Maximum Ride All Over Again
by Jezabel Raewin
Summary: What happens when a box of books show's up for the flock to read? Get through the first chapters and you'll love it. I promise. Note: FANG never happened. Rated T since I'm paranoid.
1. Prolouge

**A/N: okay 2nd story!!! Yay! Max wrote the books okay? The flock doesn't know about it, yet their about too!**

Summary: set a year after max. One day the flock's chilling with Dr. M and Ella when a box mysteriously shows up at the door containing 5 books. What happens when Fang decides to read them aloud to the group?

Disclaimer: I own nothing of this story, The flock belongs to JP. I got the idea from Choices HP who did this with Twilight! I highly recommend it! :) now! On with the story!

Max POV:

We, the flock and I rather, are hangin out with my mom and half-sister for a little while to gives a bit of a rest. I think they all could use it.

I was contemplating on what to do until mom got back from work and Ella got back from school, which hopefully shouldn't be that much longer, when the doorbell rang. I ran down the stairs to get it.

'Angel tell everyone to get away from the windows.' I told her telepathically.

'Okay Max, done! Be careful!' she told me.

I got to the door being quiet as a mouse and looked through the peep hole. It was no one other than the mailman thankfully. He handed me a package and asked for my signature so I singe Max Ride and he left like that. After waiting to hear a ticking noise to make sure it wasn't a bomb, I gave Angel the okay to come on into the living room so we could open the box.

'Well lets open it already!' Gazzy said, 'I wanna see whats in it!'

'Hold your horses Gaz, I'll open it in a second.' I told him. Truthfully I was dying to see what was in it as much as he was, I was just trying to be a little more patient than he was. Of course that doesn't often work for me.

'Fang I need a knife.' I asked. And with a look that said 'is there anything else your majesty?' he handed me his pocket knife.

I opened it and stared blankly at this collection of books. There were 5 of them all together with their spines up so we could read the titles. Each of them said 'Maximum Ride' along with another subtitle. I stopped when I saw them all saying my name.

'Well that's not weird at all!' I said. 'Fang what do you make of this?'

'. . .I say we read them. As a group.' I stared at him. We didn't read all that much before now and yet he's just willing to become a reading rabbit all of a sudden? This kid amazes me every day.

'Okay, I guess we can' I muttered, 'but why don't we wait for mom and Ella, I'd bet they'll wanna hear/read too.' Angel agreed with me, followed by Nudge and Iggy. And Gazzy last simply because he wanted to know right now.

2 hours later:

'We're Home guys!' I heard my mom call out. FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We can read them now! Aaasss soon as we eat! I'm starving! And I know my little guys are, so I got Iggy started on dinner as I told my mom about what happened earlier.

'So are you gonna read them then?' she asked.

'Of course they are!' Ella answered for me 'AND we're gonna read it too! I mean come on, some box shows up with a bunch of books with Max's name on them and they're just gonna let them sit there? I bet they had a hard enough time waiting for us to get here!'

'Mom are you sure its not NUDGE that Ella's related to??? Seriously El, your gonna make my ears bleed! And you're right, we were waiting for you guys since I know you'd want to be included.' I added with a warm smile at my family.

'Well then, what are we waiting for? Lets get started!'

We were sitting in the small living room trying to figure out what order we'd read in, among the noisy chatter I decided it was time to intercede. 'Okay okay! I'll read first, then Fang, Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, Mom, and Ella. Sorry ig but I guess you'll just have to listen.'

Everyone settled down after that so I began:

'The title of this one is Maximum Ride: the Angel Experiment.' Why does this sound so familiar??

'**Prologue: Congratulations. The fact that you're reading this means you've taken one giant step closer to surviving till your next birthday. Yes, **_**you**_**, standing there leafing through these pages. **_**Don not put this book down**_**. I'm Dead serious -- your life could depend on it.**

** This is my story' **'this seems kinda familiar. . . . hmmm' Iggy muttered.

'**the story of my family, but it could easily be your story too. We're all in this together; Trust me on that.**

** I've never done anything like this, so I'm just going to jump in, and you try to keep up.**

** Okay. I'm Max. I'm fourteen. I live with my family, who are five kids not related to me by blood, but still totally my family. **

** We're -- well, we're kind of amazing. Not to sound to full of myself, but we're like nothing you've ever seen before.**

** Basically, we're pretty cool, nice, smart - but not "average" in any six of us - me, Fang'** I just ignored the stares for the next few lines as writing this thing came back to me. I guess I forgot to tell them. . . WOOPS! My bad!

'**Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel -- were made on purpose, by the sickest, most horrible "scientists" you could possibly imagine. They created us as an experiment. An experiment where we ended up only 98 percent human. That other 2 percent has had a big impact, let me tell you. **

** We grew up in a science lab/prison called the School, in cages, like lab rats. It's pretty amazing we can think or speak at all. But we can -- and so much more.**

** There was one other School experiment that made it past infancy. Part human, part wolf -- all predator: They're called Erasers. They're tough, smart, and hard to control. They look human, but when they want to, they are capable of morphing into wolf men, complete with fur, fangs, and claws. The school uses them as guards, police -- and executioners.**

** To them, we're six moving targets -- prey smart enough to be a fun challenge. Basically, they want to rip our throats out. And make sure the world never finds out about us.**

** But I'm not lying down just yet. I'm telling **_**you**_**, right?**

** This story could be about you -- or your children. If not today, then soon. So please, please take this seriously. I'm risking everything that matters by telling you -- **_**but you need to know.**_

**Keep reading -- don't let anyone stop you. -- Max. And my family: Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel. Welcome to our nightmare.**

'okay speak already - please stop staring at me!' I know - i'm such a wimp!

'Max, why haven't you told us you wrote a book? That included us nonetheless??' fang said, eerily calm I might add.

'well - I didn't want everyone to freak out, and it wasn't much - lets just keep going, I've forgotten most of this anyway.' So we continued as I handed the book over to Fang.

**WELLLL????? do you like it? love it? hate it? what???? Should i continue??? **

**Let me know! I'll try to update soon! **

**Thanks!**

**- Jezi**


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey Guys! I just say a Huge Thank you to everyone who read this in the past couple days - I've had close to 40 hits on this story!!! AMAZING!!!

And you know I don't own any of this so . . . . the flock and stories belong to *sigh* James Patterson.

I'll see you at the bottom!!

Max POV:

Oookay so maybe waiting till now to tell them wasn't the smartest idea but they'll have to suck it up for now because they all want to go back to this time and hear what happened - especially mom and ella since they weren't even there. So I handed the book over to fang, avoiding his eyes for now.

Fang Pov:

I took the book from Max, why she was avoiding my eyes I'm not really sure except I was pretty ticked over the whole deal of not telling me till now. Any I read on, I'll deal with this problem later.

'**Part One: Flock Fright' I read.**

'**Chapter 1: **

**The funny thing about facing imminent death is that it really snaps everything else into perspective. Take right now for instance.**

_**Run! Come on, Run! You know you can do it.**_

**I gulped deep lungfuls of air. My brain was on hyperdrive; I was racing for my life. My one goal was to escape. Nothing else mattered.**

'Where were we Max? why haven't you mentioned us?' Nudge asked.

'I think, if I'm remembering right, that you'll find out soon enough.'

**My arms being scratched to ribbons by a briar I'd run through? No biggie.**

**My bare feet hitting every sharp rock, rough root, pointed stick? Not a problem.**

**My lungs aching for air? I could deal.**

**As long as I could put as much distance as possible between me and the Erasers.**

**Yeah, Erasers. Mutants: half-men, half-wolves, usually armed, always bloodthirsty. Right now they were after me.**

**See? That snaps everything into perspective.**

_**Run. You're faster than they are. You can out run anyone.**_

**I'd never been this far from the School before. I was totally lost. Still, my arms pumped by my sides, my feet crashed through the underbrush, my eyes scanned ahead anxiously through the half-light. I could outrun them. I could find a clearing with enough space for me to - **

_**Oh, no. oh, no. **_**The unearthly baying of bloodhounds on the scent wailed through the trees, and I felt sick. I could outrun men - all of us could, even Angel, and she's only six. But none of us could outrun a big dog.**

There were gasps from Dr. M and Ella, not knowing whether or not she'd be okay, but I had more faith in Max, I knew she'd be okay.

_**Dogs, dogs, go away, let me live another day.**_

**They were getting closer. Dim light filtered in through the woods in front of me - a clearing? **_**Please, please . . .**_** a clearing could save me.**

**I burst through the trees, chest heaving, a thin sheen of cold sweat on my skin. **

_**Yes!**_

_**No - oh, no!**_

**I skidded to a halt, my arms waving, my feet backpedaling in the rocky dirt. **

**It wasn't a clearing. In front of me was a **_**cliff**_**, a sheer face of rock that dropped to an unseeable floor hundreds of feet below. **

**In back of me were woods filled with drooling bloodhounds and psycho Erasers with guns.**

**Both options stank.**

**The dogs were yelping excitedly - they'd found their prey: **_**moi.**_

**I looked over the deadly drop.**

**There was no choice, really. If you were me, you'd have done the same thing.**

'I was wondering when you'd take off. About time really, there's only one way to get away from Erasers _and_ dogs right there - take a flying leap!' Iggy said, I nodded and waited for Max to respond.

'Well I was probably trying to figure out when the perfect moment was Ig.' She said.

**I closed my eyes, held out my arms. . . and let myself fall over the edge of the cliff.**

**The Erasers screamed angrily, the dogs barked hysterically, and then all I could hear was the sound of air rushing past me.**

**It was so dang peaceful, for a second. I smiled.**

**Then, taking a deep breath, I unfurled my wings as hard and fast as I could.**

**Thirteen feet across, pale tan with white streaks and some freckly looking brown spots, they caught the air, and I was suddenly yanked upward, hard, as if a parachute had just opened. **_**Yow!**_

_**Note to self: No sudden unfurling.**_

**Wincing, I pushed downward with all my strength, then pulled my wings up, then pushed downward again. **

**Oh, my god, I was **_**flying **_**- just like I'd always dreamed.**

'Wait, what? 'like I'd always dreamed'???? you mean you hadn't flown yet??' I couldn't hold back my surprise for a second.

'Well it would seem so now wouldn't it? Now just keep reading would ya?' she replied.

**The cliff floor, draped in shadow, receded beneath me. I laughed and surged upward, feeling the pull of my muscles, the air whistling through my secondary feathers, the breeze drying the sweat on my face. **

**I soared up past the cliff edge, past the startled hounds and the furious Erasers.**

**One of them, hairy-faced, fangs dripping, raised his gun. A red dot of light appeared on my torn nightgown. **_**Not today, you jerk,**_** I thought, veering sharply west so the sun would be in his hate-crested eyes.**

_**I'm not going to die today. **_

I stopped reading and held the book out to Nudge so she could read next.

'That's it? That's all that's in the first chapter Max? that's really small. Hmmm I wonder why you wrote it like that.'

'NUDGE!' came from Max, Ella, and Iggy.

'Just read it Nudge.' Said Angel, shaking her head at her, as I went to sit by Max. She's so cute when she's nervous. Wait - I didn't just think that, nope that was some delusion thing. Right. Maybe I'm coming down with something.

A/N: so whatd'ya think???? I want 5 reviews before this and now that we're getting closer to CHRISTMAS (YAY!!!!) I can probably update sooner so let me know! : )

It's because of you - my readers - why I updated so soon too! so if I don't hear from you - im just gonna wait to update. And check out my other story too! I'm kinda dealing with writers block for it right now so if you got any ideas, let me know. Its called: When Mutants Collide. It's a Maximum Ride crossover with Twilight!

Yours Featherly

Jezi


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Twice in 24 hours, aren't I nice?? : ) okay so you know the drill . . . read/review/gimme ideas! ( :

Oh, and I don't own a thing, fyi.

Fang POV:

I was starting to feel pretty bad about ranting in my head on Max. So instead of staying seated where I was on the opposite side of the room from her I went and sat by her, knowing this was tough on her.

Then Nudge took off and I'm glad she did.

Nudge POV:

As I was handed the book, I could tell fang was ready to lighten up on Max. they are soo cute when they do that to each other! I better go ahead and start.

'**Chapter 2:**

**I jolted upright in bed, gasping, my hand over my heart.**

** I couldn't help checking my nightgown. No red laser dot. No bullet holes. I fell back on my bed, limp with relief.**

** Geez, I hated that dream. It was always the same: running away from the School, being chased by Erasers and dogs, me falling off a cliff, then suddenly **_**whoosh**_**, wings, flying, escaping. I always woke up feeling a second away from death.**

_**Note to self: Give subconscious a pep talk re: better dreams.**_

** It was chilly, but I forced myself out of my cozy bed. I threw on clean sweats - amazingly, Nudge had put the laundry away. **

'HEY! I did my chores!!!' I said with a frown.

'oooof course you did nudge. Just keep reading!' said Max.

** Everyone else was still asleep: I could have a few minutes of peace and quiet, get a jump on the day.**

** I glanced out the hall windows on the way to the kitchen. I loved this view: the morning sunlight breaking over the crest of the mountains, the clear sky, the deep shadows, the fact that I could see no sign of any other people.**

** We were high on a mountain, safe, just me and my family.**

**Our house was shaped like a letter **_**E**_** turned on its side. The bars of the **_**E**_** were cantilevered on stilts out over a steep canyon, so if I looked out a window, I felt like I was floating. On a "cool" scale from one to ten, this house was an easy fifteen.**

**Here, my family and I could be ourselves. Here, we could live free. I mean **_**literally **_**free, as in, not in **_**cages.**_

**Long story. More on that later.**

**And of course here's the best part: no grown-ups. When we first moved here, Jeb Batchelder had taken care of us, like a dad. He'd saved us. None of us had parents, but Jeb had come as close as possible.**

**Two years ago, he'd disappeared. I knew he was dead, we all did, but we didn't talk about it. Now we were on our own.**

**Yep, no one telling us what to do, what to eat, when to go to bed. Well, except me. I'm the oldest, so I try to keep things running as best I can. It's a hard, thankless job, but someone has to do it.**

**We don't go to school, either, so thank God for the internet, because otherwise we wouldn't know **_**nothin'.**_** But no schools, no doctors, no social works knocking on our door. It's simple: If no one knows about us, **_**we stay alive.**_

**I was rustling around for food in the kitchen when I heard sleepy shuffling behind me.**

'**Mornin', Max.'**

'OOOOoooooo, I wonder which one of us it was! That seemed like a longer chapter! But I don't know if they'll stay that way. Do you remember Max?' and with that I earned a glare from Fang saying 'just pass the book on.' So I did as I was told and passed it over to Gazzy.

A/N: Weellll what'dya think?? I want at least 10 before I update again! Okay guys?? And I probably wont update till Saturday or maybe later - you know how crazy this time of year is! o_0 =)

Yours featherly

Jezi


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for those who've read this so far! I needed to play murderer and kill some time so I'm updating this story for ya! : ) And I don't really know when I'll update again. . . it'll be soon, I'm just not sure **_**How**_** soon.**

**And you KNOW that I own everything!**

**Not really but you know what I mean right? Okay JP owns the flock and Maximum Ride Series.**

**And without further ado I have the pleasure to introduce to you - The next installment of 'Maximum Ride All Over Again!**

Max POV:

When Fang came to sit beside me I thought he was going to chew my ear off for not telling him, not sit by my side and rub my back.

I smiled up at him and he smiled a smile that could light up the darkest of nights, and did in fact - light up my whole day.

So the book was passed on to the Gasman - who read the whole chapter using his gift of mimicry, so of course it sounded like whoever was speaking.

"**Chapter 3**:" he read.

" "**Morning, Gazzy," I said as the heavy-lidded eight-year-old slumped at the table. I rubbed his back and dropped a kiss on his head. He'd been the Gasman ever since he was a baby. What can I say? The child has something funky with his digestive system.**" He said this with a smile playing on his face. Of course he would be proud of this. "**A word to the wise: Stay upwind.**

** The Gasman blinked up at me, his gorgeous blue eyes round and trusting. "What's for breakfast?" he asked, sitting up. His fine blond hair stuck up all over his head, reminding me of a fledgling's downy feathers.**

** "Um, it's a surprise," I said, since I had no idea.**

** "I'll pour juice," the Gasman offered, and my heart swelled. He was a sweet, sweet kid, and so was his little sister. He and six-year-old Angel were the only blood siblings among us, but we were all a family anyway.**

** Soon Iggy, tall and pale, slouched into the kitchen. Eyes closed, he fell onto our beat-up couch with perfect aim. The only time he has trouble being blind is when one of us forgets and move furniture or something.**

** "Hey, Ig, rise and shine." I said.**

** "Bite me," he mumbled sleepily.**

** "Fine," I said, "Miss breakfast."**

** I was looking in the fridge with naïve hope - maybe the food fairies had come - when the back of my neck prickled. **Well we know who that is." Gazzy said when everyone else joined in saying "FANG!" I chuckled remembering this day and how many times he'd done that.

"**I straightened quickly and spun around. **

** "Will you **_**quit**_** that?" I said.**

** Fang always appeared silently like that, out of nowhere, like a dark shadow come to life. He regarded me calmly, dressed and alert, his dark overlong hair brushed back. He was four months younger than me but already four inches taller. "Quit what?" he asked Calmly. "Breathing?"**

** I rolled my eyes. "You know what."**

** With a grunt Iggy staggered upright. "I'll make eggs," he announced. I guess if I were more of a fembot, it would bother me that a **_**blind**_** guy six months younger than I am could cook better than I could.**

** But I'm not. So it didn't.**

** I surveyed the kitchen. Breakfast was well under way. "Fang? You set the table. I'll go get Nudge and Angel."**

** The two girls shared the last small bedroom. I pushed the door open to find eleven-year-old Nudge asleep, tangled up in her covers. She was barely recognizable with her mouth shut, I thought wryly.**" He stopped and stared at me.

"What?" I said "It's kinda true. Think about it!" I muttered and Mom and Ella laughed.

" **When she was awake, we called it the Nudge Channel: all Nudge, all the time.**

** "Hey Sweetie, up and at 'em," I said, gently shaking her shoulder. "Breakfast in ten."**

** Nudge blinked, her brown eyes struggling to focus on me. "Wha'?" she mumbled.**

** "Another day," I said. "Get up and face it."**

** Groaning, Nudge levered herself into a crumpled but technically upright position.**

** Across the room, a thin curtain concealed one corner. Angel always liked small cozy spaces. Her bed, tucked behind the curtain, was like a nest - full of stuffed animals, books most of her clothes. I smiled and pulled the curtain back.**

** "Hey, you're already dressed," I said, leaning over to hug her.**

** "Hi, Max," Angel said, tugging her blond curls out of her collar. "Can you do my buttons?"**

** "Yep." I turned around and started doing her up.**

** I'd never told the others, but I just loved, loved, **_**loved**_** Angel. Maybe because I'd been taking care of her practically since she was a baby. Maybe because she was just so incredibly sweet and loving herself.**

** "Maybe because I'm like your little girl," said Angel, turning around to look at me. "But don't worry, Max. I won't tell anybody. Besides, I love you best too." She threw her skinny arms around my neck and planted a somewhat sticky kiss on my cheek. I hugged her back, Hard. Oh yeah - that's another special thing about Angel.**

** She can read minds.** Well, that was - nice. The whole flock was introduced in this chapter. Will it pick up soon Max? I don't remember this day that much. It's been a while." Gazzy looked at me with eyes that started growing in size. "wait - never mind." He said with a weary tone "I remember now." And with that he passed the book to Angel.

"what happens next max? what's with the solemn expressions?" asked Mom and Ella. I had forgotten that we didn't tell them what really happened before I first met them. What I was heading to do.

"You'll have to wait and see," I told her. "I'd rather not repeat it more times than necessary. It's not something that comes up in daily conversation." And with that the subject was dropped for a little while.

But that little while wasn't long enough for me, it won't take long to get there. I think we're only a couple chapters away. So I sat and listened while my baby read on with the next chapter.


	5. Chapter 4

_But that little while wasn't long enough for me, it won't take long to get there. I think we're only a couple chapters away. So I sat and listened while my baby read on with the next chapter._

* * *

"**Chapter 4:**

"**I want to go pick strawberries today," Angel said firmly, scooping up a forkful of scrambled eggs. "They're ripe now."**

** "Okay, Angel, I'll go with you," said the Gasman. Just then he let rip one of his unfortunate occurrences and giggled.**

** "Oh, jeez, Gazzy," I said disapprovingly.**

** "Gas . . . mask!" Iggy choked out, grasping his neck and pretending to asphyxiate.**

** "I'm **_**done,**_**" Fang said, getting up quickly and taking his plate to the sink.**

** "Sorry," the Gasman said automatically, but he kept eating.**

** "Yeah, Angel," said Nudge. "I think the **_**fresh air**_** would do us all good. I'll go too."**

** "We'll all go," I said.**

** Outside, it was beautiful, clear and cloudless, with the first real heat of May. We carried buckets and baskets as Angel led us to a huge patch of wild strawberries.**

** She held my hand. "If you make cake, I can make strawberry shortcakes," she said happily.**

** "Yeah, that'll be the day, when Max makes a cake," I heard Iggy say. "I'll make it Angel."**

** I whirled. "Oh, thank you!" I exclaimed. "Okay, I'm not a fabulous cook. But I can still kick your butt and don't you forget it!"**

** Iggy was laughing, holding up his hands in denial. Nudge was trying not to laugh, even Fang was grinning, and the Gasman looked . . . mischievous.**

** "Was that **_**you?**_**" I asked Gazzy.**

** He grinned and shrugged, trying not to look too pleased with himself. The Gasman had been about three when I realized he could mimic just about any sound or voice. I'd lost count of how many times Iggy and Fang had almost come to blows over stuff Gazzy had said in their voices. It was a dark gift, and he wielded it happily.**

** It was just another weird ability - most of us had them. Whatever they were, they sure made life more interesting.**

** Next to me, Angel froze and screamed.**

** Startled, I stared down at her, and in the next second, men with wolfish muzzles, huge canines, and reddish, glinting eyes dropped out of the sky like spiders. Erasers! And it wasn't a dream.** Oh I hate this part Max! Here Dr. M. You read the next chapter. Can I sit with you Max?" Poor Angel hated this the most, I could tell. _Of course you can sit with me angel! Come on over!_ I patted my lap and she came over and sat down. I rubbed her back between her wings to calm her down.

Mom was worried now. But she read on like she knew she should.

A/N: I OWN NOTHING but the back stuff in regular type :)


	6. Chapter 5

I patted my lap and she came over and sat down. I rubbed her back between her wings to calm her down.

Mom was worried now. But she read on like she knew she should.

"**Chapter 5:**

**There was no time to think. Jeb had trained us not to think - just to act. I launched myself at an Eraser, spinning and planting a hard round house kick in his barrel chest. His breath went **_**oof**_**, and the odor was just awful, like raw sewage left out in the hot sun.**" "Nice wording there Max - that's exactly what it smells like" Iggy said, while I shuddered remembering the stench.

"**After that, it was like a movie, a bunch of superimposed images that hardly seemed real. I landed another blow, then an Eraser punched me so hard that my head snapped around and I felt a burst of blood in my mouth. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fang holding his own against an Eraser - until two more ganged up on him, and he went down under flailing clawed hands.**

** Iggy was still upright, but one eye was already swelling shut. **

** Beyond shock, I scrambled to my feet, then saw the Gasman outcold, lying facedown on the ground.**

** I leaped toward him, only t be grabbed again. Two Erasers pinned my arms behind my back. Another leaned in, his reddish eyes glinting with excitement, his jaw fully morphed out and snoutlike. He pulled back his hand and curled it into a fist. Then he brought it in hard, punching me in the stomach. An unbelievable pain exploded inside me, and I doubled over, dropping like a stone.**

** Dimly, I heard Angel screaming and Nudge crying.**

_**Get up!**_** I told myself, trying to suck in air. **_**Get up!**_

** As weird mutant kids, we're much, much stronger than regular grown-up humas. But Erasers aren't regular grown-up humans, and they outnumbered us as well. We were dog meat. I struggled to my feet, bloodlust in my eyes, ready to kill. Two Erasers held Nudge's hands and feet. They swung her hard, and she went sailing, hitting her head against a tree. I heard a small pained cry, and then she lay crumpled among the pine needles.**

** With a hoarse, blood-muffled shout, I ran up and clapped my cupped palms around an Erasers furry ears. He shrieked as his eardrums popped, and he fell to his knees.**

** "Max!" Angel screamed, high-pitched and terrified, and I spun around. An Eraser had her by the arms, and I raced forward, jumping over Iggy, who now lay unconscious. Two Erasers fell on me, knocking me down, one pressing a heavy knee into my chest. I wheezed and struggled, and one of them cuffed my face hard, his ragged claws digging deep welts in my cheek.**

** Dizzily, I fell back, the two Erasers pinning me, and with uncomprehending horror I was three other Erasers stuffing Angel, my baby, into a rough sack. She was crying and screaming, and one of them hit her.**

** Frantically struggling, I tried to scream but could make only a hoarse choked cry. "Get **_**off**_** me, you stupid, freaking --" I choked, but was slammed back again.**

** An Eraser leaned over me, smiling horribly.**

** "**_**Max,"**_** he said, and my stomach clenched - did I know him? "Good to see you again," he went on conversationally. "You look like crap. You always acted so much better than anyone else, so this cheers me up."**

** "Who are you?" I gasped. Felling cold at the center of my being.**

** The Eraser grinned, his long, sharp teeth barely fitting in his jaw. "You don't recognize me? I guess I've grown some."**

** My eyes went wide with sudden, horrified recognition.**

** "Ari," I whispered, and he laughed like a mad person. Then he stood up. I saw his huge, black boot come at my head, felt my head jerk to one side, and everything wet black.**

** My last thought was disbelief: Ari was Jeb's son. They'd made him into an Eraser. He was seven years old.**

Wow. That's what you've had to go through??" mom finished.

"Hate to break it to you, mom, but that was JUST the beginning of many battles." I told her gravely. "Ella would you do the honors and read the next chapter before we lose it here? I don't know if we'll make it through these next through chapters if we take our merry time doing so."

"Sure, I guess. I'll read." And she took the book in her hands and began to read.

A/N: I OWN NOTHING but the back stuff in regular type :)


	7. Chapter 6

"Sure, I guess. I'll read." And she took the book in her hands and began to read.

"**Chapter 6:**

"**Max?" The Gasman's voice was very young and very scared.**

** I heard a horrible, low moan, then realized it had come from me.**

** The Gasman and Fang were leaning over me, concerned expressions on their bruised, bloodied faces.**

** "I'm okay," I croaked, having no idea if I was or not. Memory came rushing back, and I tried to sit up. "Where's Angel?" My voice was strained.**

** Fang's dark eyes met mine. "She's gone. They took her."**

** I thought I might faint again. I remembered being nine years old, looking out the wired-glass lab window, watching the Erasers in the semidarkness. The whitecoats had released chimpanzees onto the School grounds and let newly made Erasers loose after them. Teaching them how to hunt. **

** The sounds of the chimpanzees screeching in terror and pain still echoed in my mind. **

_**That was who had Angel now**_

** Rage overwhelmed me - why couldn't they have taken me instead? Why take a tiny kid? Maybe **_**I**_** would have had a chance - maybe.**

** Shakily, I got to my feet. My head was spinning, and I had to lean against Fang, hating my weakness. "We've got to get her," I said urgently, trying to stay upright. "We've got to get her before they -" Horror-filled images flashed through my mind - Angel being chased, being hurt, being killed. I gulped, shutting them down.**

** "Check in, guys - are you up for a chase?" I examined the four of them. They looked like they'd been stuffed into a blender set on "chop."**

** "Yes," Nudge said in a tear-choked voice.**

** "I'm up." Said iggy, a split lip making his voice thick.**

** The Gasman nodded solemnly at me.**

** To my horror, hot tears momentarily blurred my vision. I wiped them away with the back of one hand and called on fury to keep me going.**

** Just then Iggy cocked his head slightly. It was a clue for me to start listening intently. Then I heard it too: a faint engine noise.**

_**"There!"**_** Iggy said, pointing.**

** The five of us ran stiffly and clumsily toward the sound. A hundred yards through the woods brought us to a sharp drop-off maybe fifty feet above an old, unused logging road.**

** Then I saw it: a black Humvee, dull with dust and mud, bumping roughly over the unpaved road. My heart pounded. I knew, just knew, that my little one, my Angel, was inside. And she was one her way to a place where death came as a blessing.**

** It wasn't going to happen, not while I was breathing.**

** "Let's get her!" I cried, then backed up about ten feet. The others scurried out of my way as I ran to the edge and simply jumped out into space. **

** I started to fall toward the road.**

** Then I unfurled my wings, fast, catching the wind.**

** And I began to fly.** PLEASE tell me you get her Max! you can't let her go back! I mean - come on! You do right?" Ella looked at me - her eyes beseeching. Begging me to tell her that we saved her from the school.

I looked first in her eyes, then to the floor, then to Angel. And I stayed silent the entire time.

"Max? didn't you?" She looked at me with sadness in her eyes.

"Just give me the book El." I said, not wanting to read this part.

A/N: I OWN NOTHING but the back stuff in regular type :)

And Since ive been gracious and gave you like 4 chapters at once - i want a total 15 reviews before i update again. :) please!!!!!!! (: you're my inspiration, the reason i write! that and the fact that i have WAY to much free time on my hands.

so - thanks guys!

- Jezi R.


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: More to say at the bottom so READ AHEAD and See ya at the Bottom!

I dreaded this part and the entire flock had various shades of sadness gleaming in their eyes. So I read on dying to get this part over with.

"**Chapter 7: **

**You see, that nightmare I had is actually hard to tell apart from my real life. My friends and I really did used to live at a stinking cesspool of evil called the School. We were created by scientists, whitecoats, who grafted avian DNA onto our human genes. Jeb**" I clenched my teeth and felt the normal heart ache followed by nearly incapacitating rage as I read his name, "**had been a whitecoat, but he'd felt sorry for us,**" "yeah, or so we thought, that loser." Scoffed Gaz. "**and kidnapped us away from there.**

** We were bird kids, a flock of six. And the Erasers wanted to kill us. Now they had six-year-old Angel.**" "no." followed by sad sighs from my mom and Ella.

"**I gave a strong push down and then up, felling my shoulder muscles working to move my thirteen-foot wingspan.**

** I banked sharply, heading after the Humvee. A quick glance back revealed that Nudge had jumped out after me, then Iggy, the Gasman, and Fang. In tight forgmation, we swerved down toward the car. Fang snatched a dead branch off a tree. He dropped straight down and smashed it against the Humvee's front windshield.**" "Go Fang!" Ella interrupted, "Stop them!" we all looked at her then I continued …

"**The vehicle swerved, a window rolled down. A gun barrel poked out. Around me, trees started popping with bullets. The smell of hot metal and gun smoke filled the air. I looped back into the tree line, still tracking the car. Fang smashed the windshield again. Bullets spit from several windows.**" "Fang - Get away from there!" my mom worriedly told the book Fang. I smiled briefly at her.

" "**Angel!" I screamed, "We're here! We're coming for you!"**

"**Up ahead," called Fang, and I saw a clearing maybe two hundred yards away. Through the trees, I could barely see the greenish outline of a chopper. The Humvee was bouncing heavily over the rutted road. I met Fang's eyes, and he nodded. Our chance was when they moved Angel from the car to the chopper.**" "that's not very long I'm guessing, is it?" El asked quietly.

"**It all happened so fast, though. The Humvee braked awkwardly, sliding in the mud. The door burst open, and an Eraser sprang out. Fang dropped on him, then recoiled with a yell, his arm dripping blood. The Eraser sped toward the chopper, throwing himself through the open hatch. A second Eraser, showing his huge yellow canine teeth, leaped from the car and hurled something into the air. Shouting Nudge grabbed Iggy's hand nad they pulled backward fast as a grenade exploded in front of them, spewing chunks of metal and tree bark everywhere.**

**The chopper's rotor was picking up speed, and I shot out from behind the trees. They were **_**not**_** going to get my baby. They were **_**not **_**taking her back to that place.**

** Ari jumped out of the car, carrying the sack with Angel in it.**

** I tore toward the chopper, fear and desperate anger making my blood sing. Ari threw Angel's sack through the open door. He jumped in behind, and incredible athlete himself.**

** With a furious roar, I sprang up and caught hold of the choppers landing skid just as it took off. The metal was hot from the sun and too wide to hold. I hooked one arm over it, trying to steady myself.**

** The massive downdraft from the rotors almost snapped my wings in half. I pulled them in, and the Erasers laughed, pointing at me as they closed the glass hatch. Ari was right there. He picked up a rifle and aimed it at me.**

** "Let me tell you a secret, old pal, old chap," Ari yelled at me. "You've got it all wrong. **_**We're the good guys!**_**" **"Yeah, and I'm chopped liver." Iggy coughed.

** "Angel," I whispered, near tears. Ari's claw tightened on the trigger. **_**He would do it.**_** And dead, I would be no use to anybody.**

** My heart breaking, I let go, falling fast, just as I saw a small, tousled blond head shake itself free of the sack.**

** My baby, flying away toward her death.**

** And, trust me on this, things much worse than death.**" I passed the book to Fang without another word. Nobody said anything. We were all caught up in what I had just let happen.

Fang, being the sweetest, emotionless rock around, (I know, oxymoron there - sweetest emotionless rock. . . yeah yeah) started rubbing my back and started the next Chapter for me. For us, so we could all breathe right again.

A/N: Okay, I now have 16 reviews. . . .thanks to Bumblebee-babe for that :). Flooded my inbox. (:

And now to reply to a few of those reviews:

Bumblebees-babe: Thank you for all your reviews - they brightened my day c: And im going to try to update semi-weekly. . . in other words - every two weeks if not every week. . . everything starts back full swing for me on Tuesday so we'll see how that works out umkay?

Insane Tara: That's the plan! I'll probably end up doubling the chapter within the chapter. If that makes anysense at all :) Thanks for reviewing!

Polodo: Thanks - I really appreciate the constructive criticism! And see my response to I.T.'s review about the chapters. . .are you sure I'd have 600? THAT'S A LOT! o_0 woah!

xXWriteItOutXx: Thank you! I'll try to! :)

I'll try and post another one later tonight kay? But it depends on my fam stuff goin on. . .

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Review and tell me what you did - what your fav thing about this Christmas was - if you think the bunnies are taking over the world yet?

THAT was random :D

REVIEW!!!!!!!


	9. Chapter 8 & 9

_**FORGIVE ME!**_

**please?**

**anyway, im really sorry about the terrible long wait for this, and the only excuse I have for it is that schoolwork + afterschool activities + piano + Church = N.O. F.R.E.E. T.I.M.E.**

**so to make it up to you, I'm gonna start doing Two chapters at a time, for now at least... and i'll try to update again like, in a week okay? Sound good? oh! and Thanks for AAAAALLLLLLLLL of the reviews! a few metions here: Polodo, xThatxOnexChickx, Jenna Greenleaf. Thanks guys! I want to know if you have any other suggestions too okay? Hope everyone's having a great summer!**

**Enjoy!**

Fang read on for us, the sooner we get past this agonizing part the better.

"**Chapter 8:**

**We all have great vision – raptor vision. So we had the excruciating pain of watching the helicopter take Angel away for much longer than the average person."**

**"** How much farther is that?" Mom asked curiously. "Do you know?"

"It's like 50x better than a humans…at least, that's what I heard once." I answered and motion Fang to continue.

** "My throat closed with a sob. Angel, whom I had cared for since she was a baby with goofy chicken wings. I felt like they had chopped my own right wing of, leaving a ragged, gaping wound." **We all shuddered here.

** "_They have my sister!"_ the Gasman howled, throwing himself down. He always tried so hard to be a tough guy, but he was only eight, and he'd just seen his sister kidnapped by the hounds of hell. He pounded the dirt with his fists, and Fang knelt next to him, one arm tenderly around his shoulder.**

** "Max, what are we gonna do?" Nudge's eyes were swimming with tears. She was bruised and bloody, her fists clenching and unclenching anxiously. "They have _Angel_."**

** Suddenly I knew I was going to implode. Without a word, I pushed off from the ground, wings out, taking off as fast as I could.**

** I flew out of sight, out of the others' hearing. Ahead was a huge Douglas fir, and I landed ungracefully on one of its upper branches, maybe 175 feet in the air, scrabbling to catch hold because I'd overshot. Gasping, I clung to the limb.**

** _Okay, Max, think. Think! Fix this! Figure something out._**

** My brain was flooded with too much thought, emotion, confusion, rage, pain. I needed to get a grip.**

** But I couldn't get a grip.**

** It was like I had just lost my little sister.**

** And like I had lost my little girl. **

** "Oh, God, _Angel, Angel, Angel!"_**

** Yelling as loud as I could, I made fists and punched the chunky bark of the fir tree hard, over and over, until finally actual pain seeped into my seared consciousness. I stared at my knuckles, saw the blood, the missing skin, the splinters. **Mom winced at this but didn't interrupt, sensing it would be better to just let Fang finish this as soon as possible.

** The physical pain hurt much less than the mental kind.**

** My Angel, my baby, had been snatched away. She was with bloodthirsty man-wolf mutants eager for her blood who would turn her over to despicable lab geeks who wanted to take her apart. _Literally._**

** Then I was crying, clinging to the tree as if it were a lifeboat from the _Titanic_, and I sobbed until I thought I'd make myself sick. Gradually, the sobs slowed to shudders, and I wiped my face on my shirt, leaving streaks of blood.**

** I sat in the tree until my breathing calmed and my brain seemed to be hitting on most cylinders again. My hands were killing me, though. _Note to self: Stop punching inanimate objects._**

** Okay. It was time to go down and be strong, to get everyone together, to come up with Plan B.**

** And one other thing – Air's last words were still screaming in my brain: _We're the good guys."_**

I sighed, it should be better from here on, the catalyst is over with so now its just a rollercoaster. Basically.

"Wow, max. I didn't know that's what you did when you flew off, that explains why your knuckles were so beaten up though. " Nudge said.

"It's great to know everyone cared so much that I was gone. I mean, I knew you would but just hearing it like that…" Angel sniffed and climbed into my lap. I rubbed circles between her wings to calm her down a bit. "It was terrifying in the helicopter. They kept laughing and poking me. But I pulled through because I thought of how you would come rescue me as soon as you knew how."

"I'm just sorry it took us so long to get there, Ange. Nudge, would you please get us going again? It should be getting faster after this…"

"okay Max, If you say so." Nudge replied, taking the book from Fangs hands.

"**Chapter 9"** she read.

**I don't even remember flying home. I felt heartbroken and numb, and when we walked into the kitchen, the first thing I saw was Angel's breakfast plate on the table.**

** Iggy howled and swept his hand across the kitchen counter, catapulting a mg through the air. It hit Fang in the side of the head." **"I _am_ sorry about that…" Iggy said. "hey, don't worry about it, tensions were high…coulda gone anywhere.."

** "Watch it, idiot!" he yelled at Iggy furiously. Then he realized what he'd said, clenched his teeth, and rolled his eyes at me in frustration.**

** Tears were streaming down my cheeks, their salt stinging where the Eraser had raked me with his claws. Moving automatically, I got the first aid kit and started cleaning the Gasman's scrapes and cuts. I looked around. Nudge's cheek was bleeding; some shrapnel had burned her as it flew past. For once she wasn't talking – she was curled on the couch, crying.**

** The Gasman glanced up at me.**

** _How'd you let this happen, Max?_**

** I was asking myself the same question.**

** True, I'm the leader, I'm Max the Invincible – but I'm also just a fourteen year old kid. And every once in a while, like when I realize all over again that Jeb is gone forever, that we're on our own, that the others depend on me and I can't let them down, well, that's when it all gets to me. Suddenly, I'm a little kid again, wishing Jeb were back – or even, hey, wishing I was _normal!_ Or had _parents!_**

** Yeah, right.**

** "_You _watch it!" Iggy shouted at Fang. "What _happened?_ I mean, you guys can _see_, can't you? Why couldn't you get Angel?"**

** "They had a chopper!" the Gasman yelled, squirming out of my reach. "And guns! We're not _bulletproof!_"**

** "Guys! Guys!" I yelled. "We're all upset. But _we're_ not the enemy! _They're_ the enemy!"**

** I stuck the last Band-Aid on the Gasman and started pacing. "Just – be quiet for a minute so I can think," I added more calmly. It wasn't their fault our rescue mission had been such a total ditcher. It wasn't their fault Angel was gone.**

** It _was_ their fault that the kitchen looked like it belonged to a family of hygiene-challenged jackals, but I would deal with that later. Whenever that kind of thing became important again. If ever.**

** Iggy moved to the couch and almost sat on Nudge. ** "Woops…sorry Nudge." **She scooted to one side, and when he sat down, she put her head on his shoulder. He stroked her hair.**

** "Take deep breaths," the Gasman advised me, looking concerned, I almost burst into tears again. I had let his sister get kidnapped, failed to save her and he was worried about _me._** "What? You looked like you were gonna crash again!" Gaz interrupted. "No, no! It was sweet Gazzy! It was unexpected, that's all." I smiled at him.

** Fang was darkly silent. His eyes watched me as he opened a can of ravioli and picked p a fork with a heavily bandaged hand. **

** "You know, if they just wanted to kill her, or kill all of us, they could have," Nudge said shakily. "They had _guns._ They wanted Angel _alive_ for some reason. And they didn't care if _we_ were alive or not. I mean, they didn't go out of their way to make _sure_ we were dead, is what I'm saying. So that makes me think we have time to go after Angel again."**

** "Bt they were in a chopper," said the Gasman. "They're way gone. They could be anywhere." His lower lip trebled, and he clenched his jaw. "Like, China or something."**

** I went over and ruffled his already ruffled blond hair. "I don't think they took her to China, Gazzy."**

** "We know where they took her." Fang's calm words fell like stones. He scraped the bottom of the can with his fork.**

** "Where's that?" Iggy asked, raising his head, his blind eyes bloodshot with unshed tears.**

** "The School," Fang and I said at the same time. **We all shuddered, even Mom and El. Its not a fun place to be let me tell you.

** Well, as you can imagine, that went over like a ton of freaking bricks.**

"Okay, Why did I have to get that chapter? Why'd i get the one with the aftermath of Angel being Kidnapped."

"because all these chapters at the beginning are hard, and the sooner we get it over with the sooner the more fun stuff can happen." I told her.

"You mean there's actually good stuff in this book? Like you guy's actually get to have _FUN?_" Ella asked.

Gazzy took the book from Nudge then so she could see what fun we did have. A chuckle rippled through the flock – minus Fang of course, but he cracked a lopsided smile.

**Okay so thats it for Chapter 9: 8-9. What d'ya think? Review and tell me! And review if you think that Bunnies are taking over the world if the Squirrel army is conquering your neighborhood!**

**I'm Out!**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	10. Chapter's 10 & 11

Chapter 10:

As we continued on the Gasman started to read for us

"**Nudge gasped, her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide.**

** The Gasman looked scared, then tried to wipe it off his face.**

** Iggy's spine tightened his face like ice. When he'd been at the School, they'd tried to surgically enhance his night vision. Now he was blind forever. Oops. **

"so that's how it happened… I was wondering about that…" Mom said to herself, though we could all hear it. "Iggy, I'm so sorry." He simply shook his head, tired of hearing this.

**"They took Angel back to the School?" the Gasman asked, confused.**

** "I think so," I said, trying to sound together and leaderly. As if I weren't screaming with panic inside.**

**"Why?" Nudge whispered. "After four years, I thought maybe they had forgotten –"**

"They would never forget us, and there are probably a few still out there who still remember what happened."

"**They want us back," said Fang.**

** We'd never really talked about this. It was like, out of sight, out of mind. Actually, more like, let's all try to forget when we were at the mercy of sadistic spawns of Satan in a place that's a total, hellish abomination and ought to be firebombed. Yeah, more like that.** "I like the way you think Max," Ella said. "That should have been done long ago." I nodded my agreement to her so Gaz could keep reading.

** "They'll never forget about us. Jeb wasn't supposed to take us out of there." I reminded the Gasman. **"You didn't have to remind me, I knew that. It was Nudge who said it… not me" He added on.

"I just wanted to make my point. They would take us back where we escaped from. That's all." I told him.

_How much longer did you wait Max? I don't know how long it was…I just remember darkness and fear. _I heard in my mind. _Don't worry Ange, it wasn't too long after this. Trust me._

** "Jeb knew they would do anything to get us back. If anyone ever discovered what they did to us, it would be the end of the School," Fang explained.**

** "Why don't we tell on them, then?" Nudge demanded. "We could go to a TV station and tell everyone and say, Look, they grew wings on us, and we're just little kids, and –" "**Why didn't you do that? It seems like it would've worked well…" El wondered and in answer to her question Gazzy read the next line.

** "Okay, that would fix **_**them**_**," Iggy interrupted. "But **_**we'd**_** end up in a zoo."**

** "Well, what are we gonna do, then?" The Gasman was starting to sound really panicky.**

** Fang had gotten up and left the room, and now he returned, holding a sheaf of yellowed, fading papers. The edges looked nibbled, and he shook some mouse poop off. **"Gross." A couple people said.

** "Eew," said Nudge, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "Eew. Was that –" **

** "Here," said Fang, pushing the papers at me.**

** They were Jeb's ancient printed-out files. After he disappeared, we'd cleared off his desk and shoved everything in the back of a closet so we wouldn't have to look at it all the time. **Again! Everyone winced at hearing Jeb's part in this. Back then he was my Father, or as close as I could ever think about getting but then he had to go and ruin it all.

** We spread the papers out on the kitchen table. Just looking at them made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Not to mention the strong eau de mouse. I'd rather have been doing anything but.**

** Fang started to sift through the pile. He found a large manila envelope, sealed with a clump of wax. After looking at me, catching my nod, he popped the wax with his thumbnail.**

**What is that?" asked the Gasman.**

"**Map." Fang said, pulling out a faded topographical drawing. **We all tensed at this, knowing exactly what it was a Map of, and where it would eventually lead us.

"**Map of what?" Nudge leaned closer, peering over Fang's shoulder.**

"**Map of a secret facility," I said, feeling my stomach clench. I'd hoped I'd never have to see it again, never break that wax seal. "In California. The School."**

Gazzy handed the book to Angel to continue on. So we could get to the rescue mission A.S.A.P.

**Chapter 11.** She read.

"**Whaaat?" the Gasman squeaked.**

** Iggy went even paler than normal, if possible. **"Great Max, make me the Albino of the group." Iggy said, trying to relieve some of the tension that was growing more and more in the room. I rolled my eyes and wasted another glare on him that he couldn't see.

**"That's where they took Angel," I said. "And that's where we have to go to get her back."**

** "Oh," said Nudge, her brain hitting overdrive. **"Here we go." I heard Fang mutter so only I could hear, and I just chuckled.** "Yeah. We have to go get Angel back. We can't let her stay there – with them. They're – monsters. They're going to do bad things to her. And put her in a cage. Hurt her. But there's five of us. So the rest of us have to go get **_**hmph –"**_

**I had wrapped my hand across her mouth. She peeled my fingers apart. "uh, how far is it?"**

** "Six hundred miles, more or less," Fang said. "At least a seven-hour flight, not including breaks." **"That was the longest we had ever flown straight for." Nudge said. "It was really exhausting."

** "Can we **_**discuss**_** this?" Iggy asked, not turning his head. "We're way outnumbered."**

** "No," I scanned the map, already working out routes, rest stops, backup plans. **"Even then, Max, You were a great leader to your family."

** "Can we take a vote? They had **_**guns**_**. And a chopper." There was an edge in Iggy's voice.**

** "Iggy. This is not a democracy," I said, understanding his fear but unable to do anything about it. "It's a Maxocracy. You know we have to go after Angel. You can't be thinking that we would just let them take her. The six of us look out for one another – no matter what. None of us is ever going to live in a cage again, not while I'm alive" I took a deep breath.**"And we've only been back in a cage like maybe only three other times! And it wasn't even that long. I say that's awesome!" Nudge said.

** "But actually, Nudge, Fang, and I are going after Angel. You and the Gasman – I need you to stay here. Hold down the fort. On the off chance Angel escapes and makes her way home." **"You made them stay behind? Really?" Ella said. Completely flabbergasted _**(A.N.: Don't you just love that word? Flabbergasted…that one and Sticklebats : ) )**_

** There was a moment of dead silence.**

** "You are so full of it," said Iggy, turning toward me. "That's not why you want us here. Why don't you just say it?"**

** Tension was making my stomach hurt. I didn't have time for this. No –**_**Angel**_** didn't have time for this.**

** "Okay," I said, trying for a placating tone. "It's true. I don't want you to come. The fact is, you're **_**blind**_**, and while you're a great flyer around here where you know everything, I can't be worrying about you in the middle of a firefight with the Erasers." **"Ig, I'm sorry about that, I hope you know that I will never make you stay behind again." I told him.

** Iggy's face twisted in anger. He opened his mouth but got cut off.**

** "What about **_**me?**_**" the Gasman squealed **"Wait, so let's see. Gazzy has both _Squeaked_ and _Squealed_ in this chapter alone?" El asked and Angel snickered but Gaz was a little annoyed. "I'm sorry I couldn't have just grumbled it out then Ella. I can't help that I was only 8 at the time!" Ella laughed and apologized. **, "I don't **_**care**_** if they have guns and a chopper and Erasers. She's **_**my**_** sister."**

** "That's right. And if they want her so bad, they might want **_**you**_** just as bad," I pointed out. "Plus, you're a great flyer, but you're eight years old, and we're going to be logging major hours."**

** "Jeb would never have made us stay," Iggy said angrily. "Never. Ever." **"I'm sorry Max. That was a low blow." Iggy said. "Its okay. All of our nerves were on edge." I forgave him immediately.

** I pressed my lips together. I was doing the best I could. "Maybe not," I admitted. "We'll never know. Jeb's dead. Now everyone get your gear together."**

"well That's my chapter! Here ya Go Dr. Martinez!" and with that Angel handed the book to Mom so we could read the next chapter.

A/N:

Okay guys, sorry that took a little longer than expected… I really am sorry about that. I just had a rough week last week. That and I'm almost out of the free part of the book online so I need to actually buy the book soon… I hope you liked it!

Since I'm almost out of chapters online, I'm not going to update until I have had at least 4 reviews on this chapter. It's not many but it does help! It's nice to know people are actually reading what I work on : )

I'll give a preview of the next chapter to the person who can tell me what the rabbits have done to conquer the squirrels or what the chipmunks are doing to stop the squirrels from stealing their nuts!

Thanks guys!

~Jezi Raewin


	11. Chapter 12 & 13

**Max POV:**

Mom gently took the book from Angel and smiled at me. "Is this one nearing the 'fun' yet?" She asked warily.

I laughed at her expression and Fang just smirked. "Almost Mom, we're getting there. The sooner you read, the sooner you guys come in" I winked at her, and she started to read.

**Chapter 12:**

"**We clear on Plan B?" I asked, raising my voice so Fang and Nudge could hear me over the roar of the wind.**

** We were headed into the sun, south-southwest. Leaving the Sangre de Cristo Mountains behind, streaking through the sky at a steady ninety miles per hour. **"Whoa! Ninety Miles an Hour! That's like, super fast! I knew you could fly fast, but I didn't think you could fly _that_ fast!" Ella said.** If we hit a nice air current, we could add twenty miles per hour to our speed. The glory of flight. **The rest of us chuckled at El and Mom's chagrined expressions.

** Fang nodded. **_**God, is he ever the strong and silent type. **_Most of the flock stared at me, then at Fang, shaking their heads. "You guys are so crazy." One of them said, I wasn't paying attention though… I was motioning mom to read on.

** "Uh-huh," said Nudge. "If we get separated somehow – though I don't see how we could unless maybe one of us gets lost in a cloud or something – do you think that could happen? I haven't ever been inside a cloud. I bet it's creepy. Can you see anything inside a cloud –" **Everyone laughed at this. "What! It's a good point!" Nudge defended herself.

"Just to let you know, you can't really get lost in a cloud. It was really cold though." I shivered remembering the time I had to go cloud jumping to save Total.

** I shot her a look. She paused, then quickly finished. "We meet up at the northmost point of Lake Mead."**

** I nodded. "And where's the School?"**

** "In DeathValley, eight miles due north from the Badwater Basin." Her mouth opened to add more, but I raised my eyebrows at her. I love Nudge, Nudge is a great kid, but that motormouth of hers could have turned Mother Teresa into an ax murderer.**

** "You got it," I said, "Good job." Did you hear that address? **_**Death Valley.**_** Above the **_**Badwater Basin**_**. Like, when we got there, we'd see a road paved with good intentions and have to cross the river Styx to get in. Wouldn't surprise me.**

** The wind was undoing my braid, and chunks of long hair whipped annoyingly across my face. **_**Note to self: Cut hair short.**_ "I love your notes to self Max. I thought only I did that!" Iggy laughed at Ella's comment. "You mean you don't talk to yourself, Ig? I guess it just runs in the family." She added the last part with a sigh and Angel laughed at some thought she heard. I decided to stay out of it.

** The Gasman and Iggy had been non-too-happy campers when we'd left, **"Did you really think we would be?" Iggy asked. "I mean, really!" Gazzy 'humphed' beside him but chose to remain silent. ** "but I thought I'd made the right decision. That was the problem with this leader stuff. It didn't come with an instruction manual. Given what Angel was facing their being unhappy was the least of my concerns.**

** I glanced over at Fang and saw that his face looked serene, almost – well, not exactly **_**happy**_**, Fang's never happy – but just really calm. I edged closer to him.**

** "On the plus side, flying is just really, really cool." I said, and he looked at me with a half smile of understanding. His dark wings moved powerfully, glinting faintly purple in the sunlight. **"My wings are NOT purple." Fang said with a frown as he stared at me. I looked up at him innocently and smiled. **The wind was whistling in our ears; we could see everything for miles. It was like being God. I imagine.**

** Oh, yeah. "On the minus side, we're mutant freaks who will never live a normal life." **

** Fang shrugged. "Win some, lose some." **Mom chuckled at that.

** I was too upset to laugh but gave a wry smile and looked over at Nudge. She was three years younger than us but was holding her own. Like all of us, she was tall for her age, and skinny, probably weighing no more than sixty pounds, thanks to her strong, light bird bones.**

** Ninety miles an hour wasn't fast enough. The "scientists" at the School could do a lot of damage in seven hours. Even so, I knew we'd have to take a break before we got there. If we were going to hit the School, we'd need to be rested not hungry.**

"This reality check brought to you by Maximum Ride." The entire flock recited having heard me bring them back down to earth like this numerous times. I rolled my eyes.

**I checked my watch – we'd been skyborne for a good two hours. I was already feeling empty, a little shaky. Flying burned energy like nothing else, and after a long flight, I felt like I could eat a cow. Fork optional. Even needing to get to Angel, we couldn't forget the basic necessity of eating.**

** "Max?" Nudge's big eyes, the same tawny russet as her wings, looked over at me. "I was thinking –"**

_**Here we go. **_This was met by a chuckle from maybe 2 or 3 people and a "Hey!" From Nudge.

** "I mean, right before we left? I just looked at Jebs old files, you know? And some of them were about us. Or me. I saw my name on a page, my real name, Monique, and then, like, some people's names, and then – Tipisco, Arizona. Tipisco is right on the Arizona-California border – I found it on the map. Real tiny town, it looked likey. Anyway, I was thinking, none of us ever knew our real parents, and, you know, we've always wondered, or at least I mean I've always wondered, but I guess the rest of you have too, like, whether they gave me up voluntarily or whether –"**

** "Nudge. I know how you feel. But those names might not have anything to do with you. We don't know if we were just test-tube babies or what. Please. Let's focus on rescuing angel."**

** No response.**

** "Nudge?"**

** "Yeah, okay. I was just thinking."**

** I knew this one was going to come back and bite me in the butt.** I never did apologize, though I knew I should. I knew it was all behind us. Thank goodness for that. Mom passed the book to El so she could read. . . I found it ironic that she got the chapter written from Angel. She continued to read without any comments from my family.

**Chapter 13:**

**Her mouth was so dry. Her head ached – everything ached. Angel blinked several times, trying to wake up. Above her was a dark brown plastic roof. A cage. A dog crate. A Kanine Kamper, size medium. Fuzzy thoughts pushed at her brain as she struggled to a sitting position. She knew where she was – she would recognize that chemical, disinfectant smell anywhere. She was at the School.**

__**New new 'n' wings and new new wings girl new.**

** Quickly, Angel turned in the direction of the thoughts.**

** In a crate next to hers were two other children, younger than she. Their eyes, too big for their hungry faces, locked onto her.**

** "Hi," Angel whispered. She didn't feel any whitecoats around – just the scrambled incoherent thoughts of these kids.**

**Mouth noise girl wings new new.**

** The other children stared without answering. Trying to smile, Angel looked at them more closely. She thought they were both boys. One had rough, scaly skin - literally scaly, like a fish, but just in patches, not all over. Not a happy effect.**

**The other one just looked like...a mistake. He had extra fingers and toes, and hardly any neck. His eyes where huge and bulging, and the hair on his head was sparse. It made Angel's heart hurt just to look at him. **"The poor dears." Mom's heart obviously ached for the kids that the 'scientists' played around with.

**"I'm Angel," she whispered again. "Do you have names?"**

**Noise noise bad girl wings bad noise**

**The two boys looked afraid, and they turned from her and edged farther back into their cage.**

**Angel swallowed hard and was quiet. What had happened to Max and the others? Were they in cages too?**

**A door opened and footsteps sounded on the linoleum floor. Angel felt the caged boys trembling with dread, crazed, swirling thoughts of fear crashing in their brains. They huddled together at the back of their cage. But the two whitecoats stopped in front of Angel's.**

**"Oh, my God - Harrison was right," one whitecoat said, hunching down to stare at Angel through the grate. "They got her! Do you know how long I've wanted to get my hands on this one?" He turned excitedly to the other whitecoat. "Did you ever read the Director's precept report about this recombinant group?"**

**"Yeah, but I wasn't sure I believed it," said the other whitecoat, a woman. "Are you saying this is subject eleven? This little girl?"**

**The first whitecoat rubbed his hands together with glee. "You're looking at it." He leaned forward to unhook her cage door. "Come on, little thing. You're wanted in lab seven." Oh, yes! Man, when I section her brain...**

**Angel winced, then rough hands dragged her out.**

**Pathetic relief washed through the boys that it was she who was being taken and not them.**

**Angel didn't blame them one bit.**

No one commented through the whole thing. Quite a few winces, a few cringes, and a whimper or two. It was too painful to make it pause just so a question could get asked. Which of course, since El read this one, she had to ask something. . . "A-Angel? Are you okay? They – they didn't hurt you real bad did they?"

"All I can say is, I'm glad Max got there when she did. I was really starting to worry, though I knew they would never let me stay there long." Angel said. And I rubbed a few of her feathers.

"No worries guys. You already know we all make it okay. Anyway, It's my turn to read again… Hand it over El." I said, anxious for us to keep moving.

**A/N:**

**Hey! Soooo, I tried to update fast! Does this work for you? Oh, my faithful viewers, you inspire me :). Lets spice things up a bit. . . For the next chapter to be posted I want 7 reviews. Okay? That or I'll just update on Wednesday next week. . . whichever comes first… **

**Major, MAJOR props to **percabethatw! MAJOR HELP! I definitely owe this one to you!

Annnd, the winner for the animal war update goes tooooo *drum roll* MissA540! Thanks! I totally believe that! I mean, that's why you only see a few of the Rabbits and Chipmunks! They're in hiding! :)

Next time, lets see….. How about a dedication to whomever can tell me what the best summer activity is! Bowling, Swimming, Water Skiing… Sculling? Or maybe even Squirrel watching? Who knows?

Until Next time!

Fly On!

~Jezabel Raewin


	12. Chapter's 14 & 15

**The winner of this week's dedication goes too: *drumroll* …. Frisbee in the hot Humidity filled days with friends! Congratulations!**

**Max POV:**

**We were all a little shaken at that last chapter so I moved on quickly.**

**"Chapter 14:**

**"Max? I'm starving."**

**I had been ignoring my own ferociously growling innards for half an hour. There was no way I was going to break first - and giveFangthe satisfaction? I don't think so.**

"Max, really? You two are so…..pigheaded." Ella said and we all laughed…she had no idea how that would come around and bite us in the butt.

**But I did have an obligation, as leader, to take care of Nudge. As much as I hated to stop and lose time, it was a reality.**

**"Okay, okay. We need food." How's that for incisive leadership? "Fang! We need to refuel. Ideas?"**

**Fang pondered. It always amazes me how he's able to seem so calm at the absolute worst times. Sometimes he seems like a droid - or a drone. Fang of Nine. Fang2-D2.**

" 'Fang2-D2?' Hmm, that could work…." Iggy said with an evil smirk on his face.

**Below us were mountains – the San Francisco Peaks, according to our map.**

**Our glances met - it was creepy how we knew what each other was thinking so much of the time. "Ski slopes," I said, and he nodded. "Summertime. Empty vacation houses."**

"Max, did you really break into those homes? That's not good." I laughed at Mom's expression when she realized that we had to do what we _had_ to do to _Survive._ "Come on mom, you know they had to do it." Way to go Little Sis! I smiled to myself and continued reading.

**"Would they have **_**food?**_**" Nudge asked.**

**"Let's go find out," I said. We flew in a big circle around the edge of the mountains. Small towns that came alive in winter dotted the foothills. I led us away from them, to where a few homes stood like train-set models among the trees. One house was apart from the others. No cars parked outside, no smoke coming from the chimney. Nobody home?**

**I banked and slowed, tucked my wings in a bit, and started to drop.**

**We landed a hundred yards away. As usual, after flying for hours, my legs felt a tad rubbery. I shook them out, then folded my warm wings in tight against my body.**

**Nudge and Fang did the same.**

**We crept quietly through the woods. No signs of life. The porch was covered with pine needles, the driveway hadn't been used, the shrubbery was way overgrown.**

**I gave Nudge the thumbs-up, and she smiled, though, amazingly, she stayed quiet. **_**Bless you, child.**___

There were a few chuckles here , as well as a 'humph,' from Nudge.

**A quick reconnaissance revealed no alarm system I could see. No red lights blinking inside for motion detectors. This wasn't a big fancy house worth alarming, anyway. It was just a teeny-tiny vacation cottage.**

**With my pocketknife I slit a window screen and unhooked the hatch. The screen lifted off easily, and I set it carefully against the side of the house. A thoughtful burglar, that's me.**

Mom's eyes tightened here and eyed me closely. Her unfocused eyes were showing that she was having a '_pick your battle._' conversation within her head.

**The Fang and I shook the old wooden window frame until the lock at the top jiggled open. Fang climbed in first, then I boosted Nudge in, then I scrambled in and shut the window.**

**Dust covered everything. The fridge was turned off, it's door open. I started opening kitchen cupboards. "Bingo," I said, holding up a dusty can of soup.**

**"Oh, yeah, pay dirt, woo-hoo!" Cans of beans, fruit, condensed milk, whatever that was**

"It's like powdered milk I think….I've never had to deal with it….but it does look disgusting." Ella said and Iggy nodded beside her.

**- it sounded bad. The ever-popular ravioli. "We're golden!"**

**Fang found some dusty bottles of orange soda, and we popped those suckers open. But let me tell you - there's a reason people serve that stuff cold.**

"Tell me about it…that stuff's gross when its warm." She shuddered.

**Half an hour later, we were sprawled on the musty couches, our eyes at half-mast, our bellies way to full.**

**"Uhhnnhh," Nudge moaned. "I feel like, like **_**concrete.**_**"**

**"Let's take ten, rest a bit," Fang said, closing his eyes. He lay back against the couch and crossed his long legs. "Digest a minute, we'll feel better."**

**"I second that emotion," I muttered, my own eyes closing. **_**We're coming, Angel. In a minute.**_

I passed the book to Fang feeling miserable that we stayed there as long as we did, but glad that we did at the same time because I wouldn't have met El and Mom if we hadn't stayed there that long_._

"**Chapter 15:"**Fang Read.

**Let's throw all their stuff into the canyon," Iggy said angrily, punching a door frame.**

**Having to listen to the rest of the flock leaving while**_**he**___**sat around being**_**blind**___**was more than he could stand. "I think even their beds would fit out the hall window."**

"You thought about throwing my BED out the WINDOW? Not that it would've mattered, but still! All my stuff! _Out the WINDOW!"_ Nudge whined. Flustered with Iggy, Fang read on to silence the motormouth before it could go farther.

**The Gasman scowled. "I can't believe**_**I**___**have to stay home while they go off and save my own sister."**

**He kicked a worn red sneaker against the kitchen island. The house seemed empty and too quiet. He found himself listening for Angel's voice, waiting to hear her singing softly or talking to her stuffed animals. He swallowed hard. She was his sister. He was responsible for her.**

"Gazzy, It's okay. You're not the only one responsible for me. It's not your fault." Angel said soothingly and Gazzy nodded his head, with a weakish smile playing on his lips.

**An opened bag of cereal lay on the counter, and he dug out a dry handful and ate it. Suddenly, he picked up the bag of cereal and hurled it at the wall. The bag split open, and frootios sprayed everywhere.**

"Gazzy, have I taught you nothing?" I complained. "We never throw things at the walls." I told him and he looked sheepish, "Sorry, Max."

**"This**_**sucks!**_**" the Gasman shouted.**

**"Oh, did that just occur to you?" Iggy said sarcastically. "I guess you can't fool the Gasman. He might not**_**look**_**like the sharpest tool in the shed, but -"**"Gaz, I'm sorry I said that." Iggy said. "Hey, no worries Ig. It's all over and done with."

**"Shut**_**up,**_**" said the Gasman, and Iggy raised his eyebrows in suprise. "Look. This sucks so bad. Max left us here 'cause she thought we couldn't keep up."**I groaned into Fangs side, I so regret not bringing them in the first place.

**Iggy's face stiffened.**

**"But was she thinking about what would happen if the Erasers came back here?"**"No, no I wasn't." I groaned.

**the Gasman asked. "Like, they got Angel not far from here - they**_**saw**___**all the rest of us. So they know we must be somewhere in the area. Why wouldn't they come back for us?"**

**"Huh," Iggy said thoughtfully. "Course, it would be hard to find this place, and even harder to get to it."**

**"Not if they have a chopper," the Gasman pointed out. "Which they do."**

**"Huh," said Iggy, and the Gasman felt proud that he had thought of all this before Iggy had, even though Iggy was older - as old as Max and Fang. Nearly ancient.**"Hey!" came from all three of us mentioned. "We are **not** that old thank you very much!" I grumbled at the Gasman and he winced into his seat, looking anywhere but our eyes, especially Fang's.

**"Does that mean we have to sit here and take it?" the Gasman asked, pounding his fist on the counter. "No! We don't have to wait for the Erasers to come get**_**us!**_**We can do stuff! We can make**_**plans.**___**I mean, we're not useless, no matter what Max thinks."**I winced here.

**"Right," said Iggy, nodding. He came to sit next to the Gasman at the counter, his feet crunching over dry creal. "Yeah, I see what you mean. So to speak."**

**"I mean, we're smart! We're tough as nails! Max might not have thought about keeping the camp safe, but we did, and we can do it."**

**"Yeah, now you're talking. Uhhh...But how?"**"Did you seriously ask that Iggy?" Nudge asked. "You're, like, the KING of bombs! How could you not know what to do?" Iggy just shook his head with hands out in front in the universal sign of surrender.

**"We could make traps! Do sabotage! Bombs!" The Gasman rubbed his hands together.**

**Iggy grinned. "Bombs are good. I love bombs. Remember the one form last fall? I almost caused an avalanche."**

**"That was to make a trail through the woods. Okay. There was a reason for it. Max approved it." The Gasman pawed through a hill of ancient newspapers, piles of junk, someone's old socks , a long-forgotten bowl that had once held some sort of food substance - oops - until he found a slightly oil-stained memo pad.**

**"Knew it was around here," he muttered, ripping off used sheets. A similar search revealed part of a pencil. "Now. We need a great plan. What are our objectives?"**

**Iggy groaned. "Oh, no - years of Max influence are taking their toll. You sound just like her. You're, like, a Maxlet. A Maxketeer. A...a..."**"A smart, resourceful person. That's what you were gonna say right Igs?" I finished his sentence for him and he gave me a thumbs up, with the whole room chuckling.

**The Gasman frowned at Iggy and started writing. "Number one: Make firebombs - for our**_**protection**_**only.**I smiled, _That's my boy._I thought to myself.**Number two: Blow up demonic Erasers when they return." He held the paper up and reread it, then smiled. "Oh, yeah. Now we're getting somewhere.**_**This is for you, Angel!**_**"**"Awe, Thanks guys!" Angel smiled and gave her big brother a hug. "That was sweet. And smart."

"So, you left them there to keep them safe, but forgot about the Erasers possibly coming back?" Ella asked me.

"I had a lot on my mind! I'm sorry! I'm Sorry! How many times do I have to say that! We're never splitting up again. It was a stupid mistake. Okay?" I finished my outburst standing, yelling. "It was my fault all this happened! MY fault! But it won't happen again!" I stammered this out and ran out the back door, needing fresh air for a moment; I was getting too caught up in the story. A few seconds later I heard wing strokes that could only belong to the one who could handle my outbursts like that one.

I turned in a wide arc and landed in the top most branches of a tree nearby. Fang, of course, followed after, landing just seconds after me.

"They don't blame you, you know." Fang whispered beside me.

"How can they not? I got them into this whole mess! It's all my fault, Fang! I should have – I should have –" "You should have what? What could you have done to prevent this?" He asked.

"I-I could have been circling the area daily, watching for intruders. I could have –" he interrupted me again, putting a finger on my lips to stop my ranting.

"There was nothing you could do," He said, staring right into my eyes. "None of us thought they would find us. It's not your fault, so pull yourself together and get back there. Your Mom and Ella are worried about you. Plus, you hurt Ella's feelings, and she feels bad because she was just asking for clarification." He finished his own rant and pulled me to my feet on the bough and pushed me near the edge. "Don't make me push you, 'cause you totally know I will." He added sternly.

"Fine," I muttered and jumped off the edge and flew beside him for a second. "Hey, grab my hand for a sec." I told him. He did so quietly but the look on his face was hesitant and curious.

With that I put on my super speed and we were home in 10 seconds. "Woah," he said. "I didn't know you could do that with two people." He said. "Is that what it always feels like?" he didn't really say the last part, but he did say it with his eyes.

I nodded. "Yup. And honestly, I didn't know I could do it with more than just me either." And we headed inside.

Ella's eyes were swimming with tears and mom was rubbing her back, I immediately felt really bad. "El, I didn't mean to breakdown like that. I'm really sorry. Please, it's not your fault. This was bothering me for a while, it just all slipped out." She nodded and smiled weakly.

I walked over and gave her a hug. The rest of the flock were still sitting in the circle. Nudge with a patient yet annoyed expression somewhat similar to what Iggy was wearing. Angel was just leaning against Gazzy, patiently waiting. She knew I would come around eventually.

"I'm sorry guys." I told them, but was interrupted by outcries of "You're the best leader in the world, Max!" and "You really thought that was your fault?" and "There MUST be something wrong with you." I just laughed. . . They were my family, and they loved me no matter what. I smiled and took my place beside Fang so we could continue the story once more. Fang passed the book to Nudge.

**-AN-**

**Hiya everybody!**

**Sooo, I only got 6 reviews… whatsup with that? I know I got another PM and a couple Story Favs/alert adds but still, just one more wouldn't have hurt. :) sorry I didn't update yesterday, I went to the Twilight Saga: Eclipse midnight premiere with friends and didn't go to bed till 4 a.m. and just didn't feel like working on anything yesterday… sooooo, that's my excuse.**

**Anyway. I was thinking, (a dangerous thing for anyone with an overactive imagination like myself) and thought**_**hey! Maybe I could update like 2 times a week? Or maybe more some weeks?**___**(Percabethatw, pm me please :D) if I end up doing that, It'll most likely be on Fridays and Lets say Tuesdays? Maybe Mondays? Not sure yet… You guys will be the first to know!**

**Oh! Funny story. Okay so my family was looking for dogs to get and we found one and adopted it on Saturday… Well the poor thing needed a crate to sleep in and for when we 're not home. I totally felt like we were torturing the poor thing and all I can think of is Max now. . . .is that sad or what? I think I may have read this a little to much . . .. . lol : )**

**Anyway, send me in your reviews, what you think of crates and such after reading Maximum Ride.**

**Until next time,**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	13. Chapter's 16, 17, & 18

Chapter 13:

Nudge started this chapter with a frown and all of us took that as a bad sign. I knew this was going to be hard.

"**Chapter 16" **She read.

**Angel knew she couldn't go on like this much longer. **"Not another one from Angels perspective!" Ella cried out and leaned into Mom's shoulder. Mom was looking not much better than El.

** Her lungs had started burning bad an hour ago; she hadn't been able to feel her leg muscles for longer than that. But every time she stopped running, a sadistic whitecoat – Reilly – zapped her with a stick thing. It jolted electricity into her, making her yelp and jump. She had four burn marks from it already, and they really, really hurt. What was worse was she could feel his eager anticipation – he **_**wanted**_** to hurt her.**

** Well, he could zap her a thousand million times, if he wanted. This was it – she couldn't go on. **"Oh no you don't." I sent soft glances to my baby girl. "Don't worry Max, I didn't give up!" She told me as Nudge continued.

** It was a relief to let go. Angel saw the whole world narrow down to a little fuzzy tube in front of her, and then even that went gray. She sort of felt herself falling, felt her feet tangle in the treadmill belt. The zap came once, twice, three times, but it felt distant, more an unpleasant stinging than real pain. Then Angel was lost, lost in a dream, and Max was there. Max was stroking her sweaty hair and crying.**

** Angel knew it was a dream because Max **_**never **_**cried. Max was the strongest person she knew. Not that she had known many people.** I smiled sadly as this was read. Mom was smiling weakly at me too. She was glad I was there for these kids.

** Ripping sounds and a new, searing pain on her skin pulled Angel back. She blinked into white lights. Hospital lights, prison lights. She smelled that awful smell and almost retched. Hands were pulling off all the electrodes taped on her skin, **_**rip, rip, rip.**_"Um, -Ow." Ella said cringing into moms side. We all cringed really. These were not pleasant memories. Gazzy was rubbing Angels back being the sweetest big brother that he was as Angel was shivering beside him.

** "Oh, my God, three and a half hours," Reilly was murmuring. "And its heart rate only increased by seventeen percent. And then at the end it was only in the last, like, twenty minutes that its peak oxygen levels broke."**

_**It!**_** Angel thought and wanted to scream. **_**I'm not an it! **_That's my girl.

** "I can't believe we've got a chance to study Subject Eleven. I've been wanting to dissect this recombinant for four years," another low voice said. "Interesting intelligence levels – I can't wait to get a brain sample." **"These people are sick!" Ella said, surprising us all. Some of us are just a tad slow I guess. "Now what gave you that idea Ella?" I asked, in a serious/sarcastic tone. She didn't answer.

** Angel felt their admiration, their crummy pleasure. They liked all the things **_**wrong**_** with her, all the ways she **_**wasn't **_**normal. And all those stupid long words added up to one thing: **_**Angel was an experiment.**_** To the whitecoats, she was a piece of science equipment, like a test tube. She was an **_**it.**_

** Someone put a straw into her mouth. Water. She started swallowing quick – she was so thirsty, lie she'd been eating sand. Then another whitecoat scooped her up. She was too tired to fight. **

_**I have to think of how to get out of here, **_**she reminded herself, but thoughts were really hard to string together right now.**

** Someone opened the door of her dog crate and flopped her inside. Angel lay where she fell – at least she was lying down. She just had to sleep for a while. Then she would try to escape.**

** Wearily, she blinked and saw the fish boy staring at her. The other boy was gone. Poor little guy had been gone this morning, hadn't come back. Might not.**

_**Not me,**_** Angel thought. **_**I'm gonna fight. Right … after … I … rest. **_"She's just like you, Max." Mom said trying to smile after that. Everyone was a little shaky after this chapter, as I expect they will be after every chapter where we get stuck there.

"I tried to teach them what to do." I said. "Most of them are just like me." I laughed at their expressions. It was priceless. Nudge passed the book to Gazzy and we continued.

**Chapter 17** He read.

"**Unhhh . . ."**

** This bed was horrible! What was wrong with my bed?**

** Irritated, I punched my pillow into a better shape, then started sneezing hysterically as clouds of dust sailed up my nose. **Iggy started chuckling to himself.

** "Wah, ah, ah, choo!" I grabbed my nose in an attempt to keep some of my brains inside my head, but the sudden movement casued me to lose my balance, and with no warning I fell hard to the floor. **_**Crash! **_Okay, everyone was laughing here. I guess this was a good chapter to have right after one like the last one…I shuddered.

**"Ouch! Son of a gu –" I scrambled to get mup. My hands hit rough upholstery and the edge of a table. Okay, now I was lost. Prying open my bleary eyes, I peered around. "What the…"**

_**Where was I?**_** I looked around wildly. I was in a . . . cabin. A cabin! Ohhh. A cabin. Right, right. **"A little confused, Max?" Gazzy said sweetly. I glared at him.

** It was oh-dark-thirty – not yet dawn.**

** I leaped to my feet, scanned the room, and saw nothing to be alarmed about. Except for the fact that obviously, Fang, Nudge and I had just wasted precious hours sleeping! **

_**Oh, my God. **_**I hurried over to Nudge, who was sprawled across a recliner. "Nudge! Nudge! Wake up! Oh, man ..."**

** I turned to Fang, to find him swinging his feet over the edge of a couch. He sneezed and shook his head.**

** "What time is it?" he asked calmly. **"Do you have any other tone?" Ella asked, with Mom nodding quietly beside her, a smile playing on the edges of her lips.

** "Almost morning!" I said, terribly upset. "**_**Of the next day!"**_

** He was already moving toward the kitchen cupboards. He'd found an ancient, stained backpack in a closet, and now he methodically started to fill it with cans of tuna, sealed bags of crackers, zip-locked bags of trail mix.**

** "Wha's happ'nin'?" Nudge asked, blinking groggily.**

** "We fell asleep!" I told her, grabbing her hands and pulling her upright. "Come on! We've gotta go!" Dropping to all fours , I raked my shoes out from under the couch and blew dust bunnies off them. "Fang, you can't carry all that," I said. "It'll weigh you down. Nothing's heaver than cans." **

** Fang shrugged and pulled the backpack on. "**Stubborn idiot," I muttered. He stuck his tongue out at me.** Stubborn kind of fella. He moved soundlessly across the room and slipped through the window like a shadow. **

** Now I was jamming Nudge's shoes onto her feet, rubbing her back, trying to wake her up. Nudge was always a reaaallly slow waker. Usually I appreciated the lapse of word spew, which would begin when she was fully functioning, but right now we needed to **_**move, move, move!**_ Nudge's gaze turned to me. _sorry_ she mouthed to me. I gave her a thumbs up. It was in the past, over and done with.

** I practically threw Nudge through the window, slithered out myself, then propped the screen back in place as best I could. **Everyone chuckled at that, and Nudge grimaced.

** A quick run, down a country road and we were off, stroking hard, pushing to get airborne.**

_**Sorry, Angel. Sorry, sorry, sorry, my baby.**_

_"_Max, it's okay. You needed to rest." Angel told me, non telepathically.

"I know that now. . .But at the time, it was hard. I didn't want any one of us stuck at that awful place ever again. And this was just my worst fear confirmed. I couldn't let you stay there any longer, knowing they did the most sick, vile things beyond anyone's imagination." She nodded and Gazzy passed the book to Angel.

"And I hate to break it to you guys, but you're gonna have to deal with the way that I was thinking for another 20 chapters or so…." Everyone groaned and moaned with that and Angel started to read.

**Chapter 18**

**Okay. Despite the imminent sunrise, I felt better once we were flying above the treetops. **"I knew you just needed to be in the air." Fang whispered in my ear. "That's why I went through the window first."

** But still! How stupid was that? What kind of a loser was I, to let us fall asleep in the middle of a freaking **_**rescue!**_ **I thought about Angel waiting for us, and my heart clenched. With a sense of dread, I banked and set us going about ten, twelve degrees southwest. Anxiety fueled my wings, and I had to remember to find good air currents, set my wings at an angle, and coast when I could. **I grimaced along with a few flock members as this was read.

"**We **_**had**_** to rest," Fang said, coming up beside me. **"The ever caring, stubborn idiot." I murmured.

** I shot him an upset glance. "For ten **_**hours?"**_

** "Today we've got another four hours to go, maybe a bit more," he said. "We're going to have to stop again anyway, right before we get there, and refuel." **"Like I said, the ever caring, stubborn, annoyingly logical idiot." I stuck my tongue out at him and he smiled a signature Fang halfsmile.

** There's nothing more annoying than cold logic and reason when you've got a good fit going.**

** Fang was right, of course – sigh – and of course we'd have to stop again. We hadn't even hit the California border yet. Far from it. **

** "We going to storm the place or what?" Fang asked an hour later. **

** "Yeah, Max, I was wondering what your plan was,"said Nudge **"And here comes the motormouth, bringing ever needed words of wisdom." Iggy said and was thanked by a slap on the head. I laughed at this exchange as did Angel, Gaz, and Mom. "**coming up alongside. "I mean, there's only three of us, and a whole bunch of them. And the Erasers have guns. Could we, like, drive a truck through the gates? Or even into a building? Or maybe we could wait till night fall, sneak in, and sneak out with Angel before anyone notices us."**

** That crazy thought cheered her up. I kept silent. – I didn't have the heart to tell her we had about as much chance of that as we did of flying to the moon. But if worse came to worst, I had a secret Plan C. If it worked, everyone would escape and get free. Except me. But that was okay. **"WHAT?" everyone around me, but Fang, yelled. "How could you even think of doing that? And it would NOT be okay! Do you know what we would do without you?" Nudge said, everyone else was too shocked to speak. Ungh, I knew they would react this way.

"Look, it was a last resort. I would have done that for any of you! I needed to think in worst case scenarios and this was my only option if worse came to worst! But it didn't so don't have a hissy fit." I said calmly and Fang just looked at me. I looked at him and I knew he understood. _Don't you ever. EVER. Try to pull something like that off. Got it? _ His eyes told me.

"I don't have to now. And as long as I'm alive, none of us are EVER going to live in cages again." I said looking first at him then at the rest of the room.

"Okay, okay already." Gazzy said.

"How about we move on to the next chapter, okay?" Mom said, trying to soften the mood.

"yup, besides, Ella makes a guest appearance soon." I said as Angel passed the book on to El. Suffice to say, the atmosphere in the room cleared up a little bit. No need to tell them that it wouldn't really end well for me, but oh well.

**~~~~~~~~AN~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

**Hey guys! I Hope this was a lovely little surprise for you :) I'm gonna start doing 3 chapters at once because my mom surprised my with the actual book! *and the crowd goes YAY!***

**And I'll try to update at least twice a week. So you'll hear from me at least on Fridays and Mondays MINUS next week. I'll be gone next week but i'll update on Saturday, then back to my new shed. :) Sound good? **

**Let me know if you liked this please! I don't know what you think of some of this **

**Until Friday,**

** Jezi Raewin**


	14. Chapter's 19, 20, & 21

Chapter 14

With the atmosphere slightly lighter due to the promised appearance of El, she began to read.

**Chapter 19**

**Despite my growing anxiety, it was glorious up here. Not many bids flew this high – some falcons, hawks, other raptors. Every once in a while some of them would come check us out, probably thinking, **_**man, those are some dang ugly birds. **_Mom, Ella, and some of the flock laughed at my assumed thoughts. Angel sat there smiled and said, "Yeah, actually. That's what they normally think when we're around them." And then the rest of us joined in the laughter.

** This high up, the land below took on a checkerboard effect of Robin Hoodsy greens and browns. **Ella said this with a sigh in her voice.** Cars looked like busy ants moving purposefully down their trails. Every once in a while I picked something small down below and focused on it. **"One of the few ways to pass the time during long flights." I muttered and the flock minus Ig nodded their heads in agreement.** It was cool how some little tiny thing, like a swimming pool, a tractor, whatever, would ratchet into focus.** "You can do that? That would be amazing to see." Mom said almost wistfully, while Ella bounced her head enthusiastically.** At least those maniacs at the School hadn't had time to "improve" my vision like they improved Iggy's. **Iggy winced, along with the rest of us.

** "Gosh, I wonder what Iggy and the Gasman are doing now?" Nudge babbled. "Maybe they got the TV working again. **"Not quite," Iggy said with an impish grin.** I hope they don't feel to bad. It would have – I mean, I guess its kind of easier for them to be home. But I bet they're not cleaning up or getting wood or doing any of their chores." **"Hey, we were trying to save our lives. So what if we didn't do our chores, does it really matter now though?" Gazzer said. I sighed and took it into my own hands. "Okay, look. Obviously, doesn't matter now what happened then. Okay? So you don't need to cause arguments and fights right now." I said raising my hand into the air as I spoke. Everyone nodded.

_**I bet they're cursing my name from dawn to dusk.**_ "Yeah, we did that too, though it wasn't shown in that chapter."_** But at least they're safe. **_**Absently, I chose a flickering shape below and focused on it, watching a small blob beome people, take on features, clothing, individuality. It was a group of kids, maybe my age, maybe older. Who couldn't be more unlike me.**

** Well, so **_**what?**_** I thought. They were just boring kids **"Hey!" Ella said and read on with a somewhat harsh tone that reduced into sadness mixed with obvious envy at the end.**, stuck on the ground, doing homework. With bedtimes and a million grown-ups telling them what to do, how to do everything, all the time. Alarm clocks and school and afternoon jobs. Those poor saps. While we were **_**free, free, free.**_** Soaring through the air like rockets. Being cradled by breezes. Doing whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. **"We will discuss this." I told Ella with a tone of finality signaling her to suck it up and enjoy the life she has.

** Pretty good, huh? I almost convinced myself. **"Tell me about it." Fang whispered silent as a shadow beside me.

** I glanced down again and refocused. Then I scowled. What had, at first glance, looked like just a bunch of boring, earthbound kids schlepping to school together now turned into what looked like several big kids surrounding a much smaller kid. Okay, maybe I'm paranoid, **_**danger **__**everywhere,**_** but I could swear the bigger kids looked really threatening. **Ella shuddered remembering what happened.

** The bigger kids were boys. The smaller kid in the middle was a girl. **"Ella!" shouted Gaz, Nudge, Angel and, surprisingly, Mom. I chuckled.

** Coincidence? I think not.**

** Don't even get me started about the whole Y chromosome thing. I live with three guys, remember? They're three of the **_**good **_**ones ,and they're still obnoxious as all get-out.** "Hey! We're not _that _bad. . . Wait, . . . . Nevermind." Gazzy said. All of us girls chuckled.

** I made one of my famous snap decisions, the kind that everyone remembers later for being either the stupidest dumb-butt thing they ever saw or else the miraculous saving of the day. **"So you did this often?" Mom said. "yeah." Everyone said with a tone that wasn't the happiest. I smirked and nodded. "They're not all bad though." I murmured. **I seemed to hear more about the first kind. That's gratitude for you.**

** I turned to Fang and barely opened my mouth.**

** "No," he said. **A few laughs.

** My eyes narrowed. I opened my mouth again.**

** "**_**No." **_ and now more. Even one from Fang this time. Stupid annoying purple winged reading my mind Bird brain. _Who's only worried about keeping everyone safe. Especially you._ I heard in my head. i sighed as El read on.

**"Meet me at the northernmost point of Lake Mead," I said. **

** "What? What are you talking about?" Nudge asked. "Are we stopping? I'm hungry again." **"They ever hungry Nudge. Thank you." I said and smiled in her direction as Iggy and a couple others laughed.

** "Max wants to be Supergirl, defender of the weak," Fang said, sounding irritated.**

** "Oh." Nudge looked down, frowning at the ground as if it would all become clear soon.**

** I had started a wide circle that would take me back toward the girl below. I kept thinking, **_**What if that girl was in trouble, like Angel, and no one stopped to help her? **_"That is kind of what it was like." I muttered.

** "Oh! Max, remember when you got that little rabbit away from the fox, and we kept it in a carton in the kitchen, and then when it was well you let it go? **"awe, did you really do that?" "That's so sweet." the Martinez's said.** That was cool." Nudge paused. "Did you see another rabbit?"**

** "Kind of," I said, my patience starting to wear thin. "It'll take two seconds."**

** I told Fang, "I'll catch up with you guys before you've gone forty miles. Just keep on course, and if anything weird happens, I'll meet you at Lake Mead."**

** Fang stared ahead, the wind whipping through his hair. He hated this, I knew. **"You would have hated it if it were the other way around." Came from two different places. One: from Across the room from Nudge. And Two: From Fang beside me. I smiled and didn't even try to deny it.

** Well, you can't please everybody **_**all**_** the time.**

** "Okay," I said briskly. "See you in a few."**

"I wasn't really in this chapter," Ella said with a half-hearted frown. I stuck my tongue out at her and she handed the book to Mom.

**"Chapter 20 **She read.

**The thing about Iggy was, well, sometimes he could figure stuff out like a real scientist. He was that supersmart, scary smart.** "You know it!" Iggy said.

** "Do we have any chlorine?" the Gasman asked Iggy. "It seems to be kind of explosive when mixed with other stuff." **"Why would we have chlorine? Did your mind show you something that we didn't know about?" Fang said, surprising us all. Gazzy merely shrugged.

** Iggy frowned. "Like what, your socks? No, we don't have chlorine. No swimming pool. What color is this wire?"**

** The Gasman leaned over and examined the tangled pile of stereo guts **"Ewe. . . .Did you have to describe it like that?" Ella and Nudge said together. **spread out on the kitchen table. "It looks like a robot came in here and threw up," he observed. "That wire's yellow."**

** "Okay. Keep track of the yellow wire. Very important. Do not confuse it with the red one."**' "How could you do that?" Ella wondered aloud. "I thought it was obvious," Iggy said. "I'm just a genius that way." "Yeah," I agreed. "You're probably the smartest bird-brain i've ever known." "Why, Thank y-HEY!" He said and we all chuckled.

** The Gasman consulted the schematics he had downloaded off the Internet. This morning Iggy had unfrozen the compressor fan inside the CPU, so the computer now worked without shutting down in hysteria every ten minutes. He had just **_**fixed **_**the computer, presto change-o. **"Smartest birdbrain around." I said.

** "Okey dokey," Gazzy muttered, flipping through pages. "Next step, we need some kind of timing device."**

** Iggy thought for a moment. Then he smiled. Even his eyes seemed to smile. **"If you ever. EVER. see this face. . . . Lets just say, you might want to do an inventory check on all you have." I said to Mom and Ella. The others nodded solemnly while the pyro boys smiled like maniacs.

** "Well, **_**that's**_** an evil grin," Gasser said uneasily.**

** "Go get me Max's alarm clock. The Mickey Mouse one." **"Of course you WOULD go for that one." I said in my most serious, 'don't you ever touch that again' tone. "My ONE SPECIAL ITEM!" I couldn't help it. But then the look on their faces. It was priceless! I couldn't help it again and I burst out laughing, Fang, Angel, Nudge and Ella joining me.

"Hey!" the dynamic duo said in synchronization. That only added to our own fit of hysteria. I took the book from Mom and tried to read calmly, a few giggles slipping through.

**Chapter 21**

**I landed a bit hard and had to run really fast to keep from doing a total face plant. **That sentence didn't help us out any.** I was somewhere in Arizona, trotting through scrubby brush behind a deserted warehouse. I pulled my wings in, feeling them fold, hot from exercise, into a tight accordion on either side of my spine. I tied my windbreaker around my neck. **_**There. Perfectly normal** __**looking. **_Most of us laughed a little more with this, knowing we would never really look normal.

** When I rounded the corner of the warehouse, I saw that there were three guys, maybe fifteen, sixteen years old. The girl looked younger, maybe twelve or so. **"ME!" Squealed Ella and we all laughed more again. at this rate we wouldn't be able to stop until mornings light. . .

** "I told you not to tell anybody about my little situation with Ortiz," one boy was yelling at her. "It was none of your business. I had to teach him a lesson." **"Sicko" Nudge and Ella said.

** The girl bit her lip, looking angry and scared. "By beating him up? He looks like he got hit by a car. And he didn't do anything to you," she said, and I thought, **_**You go, girl. **_"You heard that?" Ella said sheepishly. "I didn't know that." i smiled.

** "He mouthed off to me. He exists. He breathes my air," **"Jerk." I said.** said the guy, and his jerk friends laughed meanly. God, what creeps. **_** Armed **_**creeps. One of them was holding a shotgun loosely in the crook of his arm. America, right to bear arms, yada, yada, yada. How old were these yahoos? Did their parents know they had guns? **"Probably not. . . But it doesn't matter now."

** It gets so tiring, this strong-picking-on-the-weak stuff. It was the story of my life – literally – and it seemed to be a big part of the outside world too. I was sick of it, sick of guys like these, stupid and bullying.**

** I stepped out from beside the building. The girl saw me, and her eyes flicked in surprise. It was enough. The guys wheeled to look behind them.**

_**Just another stupid girl,**_** they thought, relieved. Their eyes lingered a moment on my scratched face, my black eye, but they didn't keep watching me****.**"and there goes strike one." Fang said.** Mistake number one. **I chuckled with my family and Fang just sat there, of course.

** "So, Ella, what have you got to say for yourself?" the lead guy taunted. "Is there any reason I shouldn't teach you a lesson too?" **"She didn't do anything you -" Mom cut herself off before she could say anything she might regret.

** "Three guy's against one girl. That seems about even," I said, striding up. It was hard to keep the fury off my face. My blood was singing with it.**

** "Shut up, **_**chick,**_**" one of the boys snapped. "You better get out of here if you know what's good for you." **"This would be where strike two comes in."

** "Can't," I said, walking to stand next to the girl named Ella. She looked at me in alarm. "Actually, I think kicking your stupid butts would be good for me." **"I thought you were insane." admitted Ella. "Thank you for being there though."

** They laughed. **"Uh-oh. They really should be fearing for their lives." the Gasman said.** Mistake number two.**

** Like the rest of the flock, I'm musch stronger than even a grown man – genetic engineering at work. And all of us had been trained in self-defense by Jeb. I had skills. Until yesterday, I'd never had to use them. If I could just get Ella out of here . . . **

** "Grab Big Mouth," said the head guy, and the other two moved to flank me. **"Aaaaaaand, they're dead." Gazzy said.

** Which made mistake number three. Bam, you're out.**

** I moved fast, fast, fast. With no warning, I snapped a high kick right into the lead jerk's chest. A blow that would have only knocked Fang's breath away actually seemed to snap a rib on this guy. **Everyone winced.** I heard the crack, and the guy choked, looking shocked, and fell backward.**

** The remaining guys rushed me at once. I whirled and grabbed the shotgun out of one's hand. Holding the barrel, I swung it in a wide arc agains the sid of his head. Crack! Stunned, he staggered sideways as a bright red flow of blood streamed from his scalp. **Some sucked in a sharp breath. "Ooooww. I bet he's regretting carrying that thing now." Said Iggy.

** I glanced over and saw Ella still standing there, looking afraid. I hoped not of me. **"Well. . . maybe a little. . . .but I had a tiny tiny hope that maybe you were on my side." She admitted with a tinge of red shading her face. "I was also afraid that they might hurt you." She added looking at me with a smirk.

** "Run!" I yelled at her. "Get out of here!" After a moment of hesitation, she turned and ran, leaving a little cloud of red dust behind her.**

** The third grabbed my arm, and I yanked it loose, then swung and punched him, aiming for his chin but hitting his nose. I winced – oops – feeling his nose break, and there was a slow-motion pause of about a second before it started gushing blood. **"Ewe. . . That was a great description." **Jeezum – humans were like eggshells. **"Tell me about it." Fang muttered quietly so that only Ig, Angel (since she can read minds) and I could here.

** The bullyboys were a mess. But still they staggered to their feet, rage and humiliation twisting their ugly faces. One of them picked up his gun and cocked it, favoring his right arm. **"Is that what took you so long? I still never heard the actual part that meant you had to stay down for that long." Nudge asked. In answer to her question I read the two concluding sentences of the chapter.

** "You're gonna be so sorry," he promised, spitting blood out of his mouth and starting toward me.**

** "Bet I won't," I said. Then I turned tail and raced for the woods as fast as I could.**

I handed the book over to Fang so he could read, Nudge still not understanding. Oh, well. She'll just have to be a little more patient. She looked at me and then I continued to say: "Why don't we wait for the next chapter to start tomorrow. It's getting kind of late you know." I said and glanced at the clock on the TV, 11:03 P.M. It read. sheesh.

"Okay, Up to bed guys, Max is right. Bedtime." Mom said corralling everyone up stairs to their respective sleeping places. "We'll start bright and early at 8:15 okay guys?" She called up then checked with me, i gave her a thumbs up. Me, being the leader of the Flock, and Fang, because he's Fang, sleep down here in the living room. In SEPARATE places. . .Most of the time. Fang had gone up with the others, after we stacked hands, did the usual, to grab our sheets and blankets. Mom kissed us both good night, then headed up to her own room.

Well, all in all, not a bad day. I think it went okay. It could've gone a heck of a lot worse thats for sure. _All I know is_, i thought to myself as I laid down on the couch. _tomorrow should be fun._

**A-N- - - - - **

**Well, there ya have it! Chapter's 19-21. Sorry they were a day late. . . I kinda . . . spent all day reading Harry Potter . . . I know i know. I'm sorry. :) But here you guy! I'll update again on Friday, most likely okay? :) Thank you to my faithful reviewers! I was a little shocked not to see some names, but it is Summer, and we're only Human. . .(Or partly depending who you are). Well, that's all folks!**

**Fly on!**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	15. Chapter's 22, 23, & 24

Chapter 15

Well, me being me, I ending up waking up around 5. Not being able to sleep of course. Fang was still conked out on the sofa, where I was until i went to use the bathroom. . .stupid space stealing birdbrain. anyway, i decided to scan through the next few chapters just to figure out what's happening and so i could prepare myself. Well, lets just say, this will be interesting. around 7 mom came down to get her day started. I had already started a pot of Coffee for her when i heard her waking up. Soon after that Iggy came down the stairs and started making the usual breakfast feast, assisted by mom.

Fang had woken up not long after 6:15 so we sat in contented silence until Everyone else meandered down to the kitchen. Once we were all full we gathered back in the living room, in the same spots as last night, and the book was handed to Fang. I grimaced. _Of course, It WOULD be him that gets the chapter where i get shot._ I thought to myself. Luckily, Ange was still conversing with Mom about maybe going to the -_cringe_- candy store later. Fang cleared his throat and began talking in his smooth deep voice.

**Chapter 22**

**Of course, if I could have taken off, I'd have been a little speck in the sky by then.**** But I couldn't let those yo-yos see my wings, and within seconds I was in the woods anyway.**

** I ran through the underbrush, smacking branches out of my way, glad I was wearing shoes. I had no idea where I was going. **"Do we ever know where we're going when we're running from yo-yos like these jerks?" Nudge asked with a smile playing on the corners of her lips.

** Behind me I could hear a couple of the bozos yelling, swearing, threatening. I wanted to laugh but couldn't spare the time. I was steadily increasing the distance between us.**

** Then I heard a loud **_**bang!**_** from the shotgun, **Nudge's almost smile vanished, and Angel yelped quietly.** and tree bark exploded around my head. That stupid **_**gun.**_

** Are you thinking what I think you're thinking? Are you wondering if I noticed the similarities between this asinine situation and my dream? Well, **_**yeah**_**, I'm not an **_**idiot**_**. As to what it all meant, well, I'll work on that later. **"Yeah, it does kind of sound like your dream . . . lets just hope no dogs come in yet." Iggy said, and Nudge nodded her head with him.

** In the next second, there was another bang and almost simultaneously a sudden, searing pain **"So you got shot." Fang said. He stared at me, useless worry in his eyes that soon changed to _'Dont you ever, EVER do this again!' _His eyes told me how worried he had been that something like this had happened. _'But it's okay now.' _I tried to make that visible in my eyes as he stared into them. "That's what took so long." Nudge said after him. Fang continued to read.** in my left shoulder. I gasped and glanced over to see blood blossoming on my sleeve. That idiot had actually hit me!**

** Then sheer bad luck made me instantly rip over a tree root, fall on my hurt shoulder, and slide crazily down a steep slope, through bushes, underbrush, vines, and rocks. I tried to grab anything but my left arm couldn't move well, and my right hand scrabbled uselessly. **"Eeeerg, how long had you been like that?" Ella asked. "When did you get help Max?" Gazzy asked me worriedly. I smiled. "Just keep reading Fang. They'll find out soon." He obliged, with a scowl on his face, but he still read.

** Finally, I tumbled to a stop at the bottom of an overgrown ravine. Looking up, I saw only green: I was covered by vines and shrubs.**

** I lay very still, trying to catch my breath, trying to think. Far above me, I heard the wild boys yelling and shooting again. They sounded like elephants crashing through the woods, and I tracked them clearly as they ran right past where I fell.**

** I felt like an ogre had just beaten me all over with a club. I could barely move my left arm, and it hurt like fire. I tried to stretch out my wing, only to suck my breath in hard as I found out it had been hit too. I couldn't see it well over my shoulder, but my big clue was the screaming pain.**

** I was scraped all over, had lost my windbreaker, and if I wasn't mistaken, I was sitting in a patch of poison ivy. **"You're day just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it, Max?" Mom said. "Tell me about it." I muttered.

** Slowly I stood up, smothering gasps of pain. I had to get out of here. I checked the sun and started working my way north. I swallowed a groan as I realized that Nudge and Fang were no doubt wondering where the heck I was. **"Yeah, pretty much" Nudge said.

** I had messed up big-time. Angel was waiting for me too – if she was still alive. I had let them all down. **"Don't think like that, Max. If you hadn't killed some time, we probably wouldn't have been able to meet up with you." Gazzy said.

** On top of it, I was hurt pretty bad and had gun-toting maniacs after me. Crap. **"Well, so much for your pep talk, Gazzers." Iggy said as we chuckled.

** I scowled. It's in my nature to fight for the underdog. Jeb had always told me it was my fatal flaw.**

_**Jeb had been right. **_"You didn't die though. You're right here." Thank you caption obvious. "Just read the Next chapter Nudge," I told her.

**Chapter 23**

"**Fang? I'm really hungry, you know?"** there were various giggles and laughs. It could've only been Nudge.** It had been almost an hour since Max had left them. Nudge still didn't understand exactly what had happened, where Max had gone. **At this Nudge was sending a combination of dagger glances and soft looks my way. Talk about a weird combo.

** Fang nodded curtly, then motioned with his head. **"still not talking, i see?" Mom asked. "He never really opened up to anyone. Except Max, and Angel of course." Said Nudge. **Nudge banked slightly and followed him.**

** They were coming up on some cliffs, flat on top and made of striated rock. Fang headed toward a shadowy indentation, and Nudge started backpedaling to slow down for a landing. This close, the indentation turned into a broad, shallow cave, and Nudge ducked a bit as she set down inside.**

** Fang landed almost silently beside her. **"I was silent." Fang said, looking slightly upset. "You were, for the most part." Nudge said with a giggle.

** The cave went maybe fifteen feet in and was about twenty feet wide, tapering at both ends. The floor was sandy and dry, and Nudge sat down thankfully.**

** Fang took of his backpack and started handing her food.**

** "Oh, yes, yes," Nudge said, ripping open a bag of dried fruit. **

** Fang waved a chocolate bar** "How on earth, did you manage to get CHOCOLATE without giving me any?" I asked, incredulous. He shrugged and continued to read.** in front of her and she squealed happily "Oh, Fang, where did you find this? You must have been hiding it – you didn't say anything,** "Yeah, cause Fang always tells us when he has good stuff." Iggy muttered only for us to hear at the same time Ella said "There's a shocker." I laughed with Gazzy, Nudge, Ange and Mom.** and all this time you've had **_**chocolate**_**, and oh, God, it's so good. . ."**

** Fang gave her a little smile and sat down. He bit into his chocolate and closed his dark eyes for a few moments, chewing slowly.**

** "So **"Here we go." Iggy whispered. a chuckled under my breath again.** where's Max?" Nudge asked a few minutes later. "Why'd she go down there? Shouldn't she be back by now? Aren't we supposed to go all the way to Lake Mead? What are we gonna do if she doesn't come back soon -"She stopped when Fang help up his hand. **"Thank you." was muttered by supposedly Iggy, but we all knew it was Gazzy, he had obviously been reminded of his special 'ability' and was going to but it back into use immediately.

** "Max saw someone in trouble, down below, and went to help," he said in his quiet, deliberate voice. "We'll wait here for her; Lake Mead is right below us."**

** Nudge worried. Every second counted. So why were they stuck here? What was Max doing that was more important that Angel? She finished her last dried apricot and looked around.**

** Okay, now that Fang mentioned it, she could see the blue edge of Lake Mead off to her left. Nudge stood up; her head barely touched the ceiling. Their cave had a fairly wide ledge on either side of it, and she walked out on the left ledge to see the lake better.**

** She froze. "Uh, **_**Fang?**_**" **"awe, darn." said Mom. "Just when i thought we could a whole chapter without trouble." Her face set in a worried expression she looked at Fang. Fang smiled.

"Well, we technically did." He said. "That was the end." I chuckled at moms chagrined expression. Fang passed the book on to Nudge and though we knew what was coming we tried to keep a smile off our faces. . . .some of us didn't succeed.

**Chapter 24 **Nudge read.

**Fang came out next to Nudge, then stood perfectly still. **"Ugh, do you have to be like that, Max?" Ella asked throwing her head into her hands. That's where I broke my mask.** The ledge curved upward toward the top of the cliff. Thin, scrubby plants dotted the area, and boulders stuck out of hard-packed clay and rock.**

** In and among the rocks and plants were large nests, **"No way!" Mom said. "You got to see the actual nesting grounds of the Ferruginous hawks?" you could rub her face on the door and it'd turn green with all the envy you could see. Ella looked up and laughed at what mom said breifly, then she looked at me and stuck her tongue out.** each about two feet across. Most of the nests had large fuzzy fledglings in them, **"Awe!" Mom said.** and most of the fledglings had larger rust-colored parents, and most of the parents were staring tensely at Nudge and Fang with cold predators' eyes.**

** "What are they?" Nudge whispered out of the side of her mouth.**

** "Ferruginous hawks," Fang said softly. "Largest raptor in the States. Sit down, **_**very slowly.**_** No sudden movements or we're both bird feed."**

_**Okaaaay,**_** Nudge thought, gradually sinking to her knees. She wanted to turn and run but guessed if she did, she might be attacked. **"Smart move." Mom said. **The few talons she could see looked lethal. Not to mention the severe beaks, sharply cuved and mean looking.**

** "Do you think -"she bagan softly, but Fang motioned for her to be quiet, **_**very**_** quiet.**

** He lowered himself next to her, his eyes on the birds. One of the hawks had a partially dismembered gopher in its mouth. Its fledglings were squawking loudly for it.**

** After several minutes, Nudge felt like she needed to scream. She hated sitting still, had a million things to ask, didn't know how much longer she could take this inaction. **Everyone started laughing, imagining Nudge about to explode from sitting still to long.

** A small movement caught her eye, Fang was very slowly extending one of his wings. **"And you accused me of being stupid?" I asked Fang.

** Every hawk head swiveled in unison, their eyes focusing on the wing like lasers. **"You're lucky they didn't rip it to shreds." Iggy said. "I thought you were gonna lose that wing." Nudge said.

** "I'm letting them catch my scent," Fang's lips barely moved. **

** What felt like a year later, the hawks seemed to relax a bit. They were huge, with an almost five-foot wingspan, and looked cold and powerful. On top, their wing feathers were mostly brown with russet streaks, and they were streaked with white below. Not unlike Nudge's own wings, except hers were so much bigger, twice as big. **"So you have some hawk in you? Very cool" Ella said.

** Some hawks went back to feeding their noisy offspring, others left in search of food, still others returned with dinner. **"This would be where Nudge turned Vegetarian on us." I said, playfully sticking my tongue out at her. She smiled back.

** "Eew," Nudge couldn't help whispering when one hawk brought back a still-wriggling snake. The fledglings were excited to see it and practically climbed over one another trying to get the first bite. "Double eew." **"Yeah, I agree with Nudge." Ella said. "Same here." Angel said. "That's disgusting."

** Fang turned his head slowly and grinned at her. **"Wait, Fang GRINNED? how often does that happen?" Iggy said and we all laughed at Fang's now affronted face. **Nudge was so surprised that she smiled back.**

** This **_**was**_** pretty cool. She was itchy to leave, wished Max would show up soon, **"Sorry." I muttered. **and she wishd they had more food, but all the same, it was pretty awesome to sit here in the sun, surrounded by huge, beautiful birds, her own wings stretched out and resting. She guessed it couldn't hurt to do this for a little bit longer. **

"That's the end of the chapter." Nudge said, handing the book to the Gasman who grinned like a maniac. Uh-oh.

**AN:**

**Hey guys! I'm on time today! ^_^ **

**Okay sooooo - Whatd'ya think? I need feed back! I tried to get everyone talking now. . . .Did it work? **

**I want to say thanks to those of you who just started reading this :) I know i got a review from at least one of you saying how they waited and waited, cause they just weren't sure. . . but I hope this meets and/or exceeds any hopes/expectations. :)**

**Question of the day: Who originally said "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." **

**Till next time!**

**~Jezabel Raewin**


	16. Chapter's 25, 26, & 27

Chapter 16

The Gasman received the book gladly. Everyone seemed to be a little worried of his use of words.

**Chapter 25 **He said, in his normal voice might i add.

**But not that long.**

**"Angel's _waiting_ for us,"**** Nudge said a bit later. "I mean, she's like a little sister, like everyone's little sister."** Everyone started snickering as he read in perfect imitation of Nudge's voice. Nudge sat there, seeming torn between frowning or laughing. Even Fang smiled.

**She brushed some rock dust off her already dusty tan legs and scowled, picking at a scab on her knee. "At night, when we're supposed to be asleep, **"SUPPOSED to be asleep." I said, narrowing my eyes. "Eerrm, if it counts, we don't do that now. . ?" she trailed off. "Uh-huh." I said. **"me and Angel talk and tell jokes and stuff." Her large brown eyes met Fang's. "I mean, am I going to have to sleep in that room alone, whenever we get home? **There was a collective sigh from the flock. We could never really go home now. This was as good as we could get. and for me, It's enough. **Max has to come back. She wouldn't let Angel go, right?" **

**"No," **Gazzy went on to do Fang's voice, that had us all staring at the blond haired blue eyed kid who was speaking with Fang's dark, deep, calming voice. . . kind of a strange mix. I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing, along with Iggy, Ange and Ella. **said Fang. "She won't let Angel go. Look – you see how that big hawk, the one with the dark stripe on his shoulders – you see how he seems to move one wing faster than the other when he banks? It makes his bank really tight and smooth. We should try it." **"Way to change the subject Fang."

**Nudge looked at him. That was probably the longest speech she'd ever heard Fang make. **"It's true." Said Nudge. "But I've heard longer now." I thought El's eyes were gonna pop out of her head. I giggled along with Ange.

**She turned to watch the hawk he'd pointed out. "Yeah, I see what you mean." But she'd barely finished before Fang had stood up, run lightly toward the edge of the cliff, and leaped off. **"No Fang, DONT DO IT! WE LOVE YOU!" Iggy called out causing us to burst out with laughter, while Fang just rolled his eyes. **His large, powerful dark wings caught the air and swooped him up. Fang flew closer to where the other hawks were circling in a kind of hawk ballet. **"Wow." Ella whispered so low, I don't think mom could've heard her. Too bad for her, all of us did.

**Nudge sighed. She really, really wished Max were here.** "I wished I was there too, kiddo."** Was Max hurt? **"Yes."** Should they go back? **"NO." I said in answer to all of those things, resulting in getting a smack on the back of the head.** She would ask Fang when he returned.**

**Just then he wept past her, level with their cave. "Come on!" he called. "Try it! You'll fly better." **"It really did help. and It made me feel better." Nudge said. "Yeah, Fang really knows how to keep spirits up when he needs too." Angel chimed in. Fang meanwhile glared at the other guys and his eyes definitely said. _try to say otherwise and i'll take a leaf out of Max's book._ I snorted.

**Nudge sighed again and brushed some chocolate crumbs off her shirt. Wasn't he worried about Angel? **"Do you even know me?" Fang asked incredulously. Nudge stuck her tongue out.** If he was, **"Which I was." He muttered. **he probably wouldn't show it, **"Does he ever show anything?" Iggy asked, the only one not able to watch his expressions.** she guessed. But she knew Fang loved Angel – he'd read to her before she learned how to read, and even now he still held her when she was upset about something. **"Awe" rang out across the room. From all of us. Because it was just to sweet. I smiled oh so innocently up at him and he whacked my head yet again.

**_Well, I might as well practice too. Better than sitting around doing nothing._ **"That's my girl." I told her and she smiled up at me. **She flung herself off the cliff, **"Not you too!" Iggy said. but when i looked at him, he had his hands in the air. I looked immediately at Gazzers but he already started to read again.** unable to keep a bittersweet happiness from flooding her chest. It just felt so – beautiful, to float in the air, to move her wings strongly and feel herself glide freely through space. **I heard Ella sigh oh so quietly, such an intense longing was on her face. I got an image in my head of Ella flying beside me, her wings fully outstretched. Just flying around in the sky. _You need to talk to her soon Max._ Angel told me when the image left. _She doesn't know what she's asking for. I'll keep you updated._ I nodded my head as Gazzy read.

**She flew alongside Fang, and he demonstrated the move for her. She watched him and imitated it. It worked great. **"The hawks helped a lot." Gazzy said.

**She flew in huge circles, practicing the move and flying closer to the hawks, who seemed to be tolerating her. As long as she didn't think about Max or Angel, she would be okay.**

**That evening Nudge lay on her stomach, her wings flat out around her, and watched the parent hawks grooming their young. They were so gentle, so attentive. These fierce, strong birds were carefully smoothing their fledglings' mottled white feathers, feeding them, helping them get out of the nest to practice flying.**

**A lump came to her throat. She sniffled.**

**"What?" said Fang.**

**"These birds," said Nudge, wiping her eyes and feeling stupid. "Like, these dumb hawks have more of a mom than I ever had. **"I know." I said in sync with every one of the flock members. Angel scooted closer to Nudge and they wrapped their arms around each other. Everyone of the flock has felt like this at some point or another. It just happens. **The parents are taking care of the little ones. No one ever did that for me. **"Max did." Ella said.** Well, besides Max. But she's not a mom."**

**"Yeah. I get it." Fang didn't look at her. His voice almost sounded sad. **"That's a change. He actually showed feeling." Iggy said, trying to lighten the mood. I reached over and smacked him upside the head so Fang didn't have to.

**The sun set, and the hawks settled down in their nests. Finally, the raucous fledglings quieted. When it had been dark for an hour, Fang edged closer to Nudge and held out his left hand in a fist. Nudge looked up at him, then stacked her left fist on top of his. It was something the flock always did together before bedtime. **"Well, almost always." I said.

**Except they hadn't done it when they'd fallen asleep in that cabin last night. And now it was just the two of them.**

**Nudge tapped his fist with her right hand, and he tapped hers.**

**"Night," she whispered feeling as if everything she cared about had been ripped away from her.**** Silently, she curled up against the wall of the cave.**

**"Night, Nudge," whispered Fang.**

Gazzy passed the book to Angel so we could keep it going. She started promptly.

**Chapter 26**

**Oh, Man. This was _not_ the best day I'd ever had.** "You can say that again, though I have had worse." I said. ** My shoulder was till bleeding a bit, even though I'd been pressing on it for hours. **Mom looked at me. "Goodness Max! You should've gone to get help!" she said. "I did." I replied. "I found you. And that was the best thing that could've ever happened." I finished and smiled up at her. **Every time I jostled it, warm blood oozed through my fingers.**

**I hadn't run into the gun carrying clowns again, but I'd heard them off and on. I'd been working my way north in a big arc, trying to weave a confusing rrail for whoever might be following me. Every time I heard them, I froze for endless minutes, trying to blend in with the brush. **"Hahahaha." Gazzy laughed, picturing me a camo soldier out in the woods, bending over myself trying to look like a bush. The picture i had in my head was funny, so i could only imagine what the Gasman had come up with.

**Then, cramped and stiffening, I would painstakingly start again. In case they brought dogs, I'd splashed though streams at least four times, and let me tell you, trying to keep your balance on moss-covered rocks in icy water with a hurt shoulder is no picnic. **"I bet. It's a wonder your arm wasn't in worse shape when you came." Ella said.

**I'd felt around on my shoulder and wing, and as far as I could tell, the shot had just scooped out a trail of flesh and wing **Everyone winced. **but hadn't actually lodged inside. Whatever – my arm and wing felt useless and they hurt awfully. **I was whacked once again. But I didn't retaliate because I knew I'd earned it and if I hadn't gotten shot, I most likely would never have met Ella or my mom.

**It was getting late. **"Here comes Max's _hopeless_ rant." Muttered Iggy.**Angel was somewhere hours away, being subjected to God knows what horror, wondering where I was. I pressed my lips together, trying not to cry. I couldn't fly, couldn't catch up to Fang and Nudge, who were probably furious by now. It wasn't like I could call their cell phones or anything.**

**This situation totally sucked, and it was 100 percent my own stupid fault, which made it suck even worse.**

**Then, of course , it started pouring rain. **"It would have been better if it hadn't started to rain." I said. "But your whole _lost_ situation wouldn't have been complete with out it." Ella said. "True." I nodded.

**So now I was slogging my way through wet woods, wet brush, red clay mud, wiping water out of my eyes, getting more chilled and more miserable and more hungry and more insanely _furious _at myself.**

**I hadn't heard the guys in a long time – they had probably gone home to _get out of the rain_.**

**A minute later I blinked and wiped my eyes. I squinted. There were lights ahead. **"Yes! Here we come!" Said Ella, getting really excited. Mom had a similar smile but was still tainted with worry.

**If it was a store or shed, I could wait till everyone left and then hole up for the night. **"But this place is so much better."** Soon I was only ten yards away, hunching down in the darkness, peering through the wet trees. It was a house.**

**A figure passed a window, and my eyebrows rose. It was that girl, Ella. This must be her house.**

**I bit my lip. She probably lived her with her two doting parents and her 1.6 siblings. **"Really, Max?" She said. "_1.6_? It's always been only me and Mom." She said. Mom was laughing. **How nice for her. Anyway, I was glad she had gotten home safe. Despite everything, if I had let those horrible guys beat her up, I never would have forgiven myself.**

**I shivered hard, feeling the icy rain run down my back. I was about to fall over. What to do here, get a plan. . .**

**I was still waiting for a brilliant inspiration when the side door of the house opened. Ella came out holding a huge umbrella. A shadow moved at her feet. It was a dog, a low-to-the-ground, fat dog. **"Magnolia." I laughed. That crazy dog was supposedly showing Total around outside. Total didn't like it too much, but he still went along with it. I don't think he wanted to hear all of this. I didn't really care.

**"Come on, Magnolia," Ella called. "Make it fast. You don't want to get too wet." **"I will always remember this night." Said El. "The night my life truly turned upside down.

**The dog started sniffing around the edge of their yard, snuffling in the weeds, oblivious to the rain. Ella turned and walked up and down, twirling her umbrella, scanning her yard. Her back was to me.**

**Desperate times call for desperate measures.**** I don't know who first said that, but they were right on the money. I took a deep breath, then very, very quietly, began to move toward Ella. **Angel passed the book to Ella, who, thinking that she would get to read more from my perspective frowned when she saw the chapter she was to read. She read so we could get past this.

**Chapter 27**

**Okay, two more blood samples and the glucose assay will be done. Then we can do the EECs. ** "Why are there so many of these?" Nudge asked. "To make me feel bad." I replied.

**_Why isn't this over? Where are you, Max? _**"See." I muttered as Angel shuddered beside Gazzy who had already wrapped his arms protectively around her. **A****ngel thought sadly as the whitecoat approached. The front of Angel's dog crate opened, and a guy knelt down and peered in at her. She pressed herself against the back as hard as she could.**

**He reached in to grab her hand, where the shunt was, **"They put a shunt in you?" I asked. She nodded sadly.** and noticed her face. **"What's wrong with your face?" Iggy asked. "I was hit." She said weakly. **He turned back to his fellow whitecoats. "What happened to it?"**

**"It bit Reilly earlier," someone said "He hit it." **Mom scoffed. "It. She is not an _IT._" She said.

**Angel tried to pull herself into a tight little ball. The whole left side of her face throbbed. But she was glad she'd bitten him. She hated him. Hated all of them.**

**Stupid Reilly. Guy should work in a car wash. If he wrecks this specimen, I'll kill him.**

** "Doesn't he realize how unique this subject is?" the whitecoat said angrily. "I mean, this is Subject _Eleven_. Does he know how long we've been looking for it? You tell Reilly not to damage the merchandise."**

** He reached in and tried to take Angel's hand again.**

** Angel didn't know what she should do. The plastic shunt on the back of her hand hurt, and she'd cradled it against her chest. All day she'd had nothing to eat or drink, and then they'd made her drink some horrible, sickly sweet orange stuff. They'd taken blood from her arm, but she'd fought them and bit that one guy. So they'd put a shunt in the back of her hand to make taking blood easier. They'd drawn her blood three times already.**

** Angel felt near tears but clenched her jaw.**

** Slowly, she uncoiled herself a tiny bit and edged closer to the opening. She stretched her hand toward the lab guy.**

** "That's it," he said soothingly, and pulled out a needle with a test tube attached. He unclipped the stop on the shunt and pushed the needle in. "This won't hurt. Honest."**

** Angel turned away, keeping her back to him, that one hand stretched away from her.**

** It didn't take long, and it didn't hurt. Maybe he was a good whitecoat – like Jeb. And maybe the moon was made out of cream cheese.** Ella handed the book to Mom and Angel got up, came over to me and Fang, climbed into Fangs lap and Fang started rubbing her wings and back. It was the sweetest thing I'd ever seen. Mom got up real quick and ran to the kitchen, grabbed a plate of cookies and some milk and set it in the middle after handing 2 to Angel. We continued on with the next chapter

**AN:**

**Hey Guys! I'm sorry, I should've had this up this morning. But my computer freaked out last night and decided to close out the Fanfiction site with the chapters that I had already added commentary on. Meaning that I had to go back and add it all in AGAIN. So thats my excuse. **

**Anyway. . . I hope you enjoyed todays installment of Maximum Ride All Over Again! Let me know in your reviews (Which you had BETTER leave) what you thought of the chapter! :)**

**Until Next Time**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	17. Chapter's 28, 29, & 30

Chapter 17

As soon as everyone had gotten there own little pile of cookies (None higher than my own of course), Mom picked up the book opened up to where we left off and began to read.

**Chapter 28**

"**Okay," said Iggy. **"Sweet! It's back to us!" They pyro pair said.** "We're being **_**very**_** careful. Hello? Gazzy? We're being **_**very**_** careful?" **"I should certainly hope so." I said, crossing my arms over chest. Gazzy smiled innocently up at me.

** "Check," said the Gasman, patting the explosive package they called Big Boy. **

** "Nails?" **

** The Gasman rattled the jar. "Check."**

** "Tarp? Cooking oil?"**

** "Check, check." The Gasman nodded. "We are **_**geniuses. **_"Ummmm, not sure _genius_ is the right word. Maybe _bird-brain_ would be closer." I said. Angel, Nudge and Ella giggled. _So THIS is where their plans came into play._ This outta be good. **Those Erasers'll never know what hit 'em. If only we had time to dig a pit."**

** "Yeah, and put poison stakes at the bottom," Iggy agreed. **"Like I said: _Birdbrain._" **"But I think what we've got is good. Now we need to fly out, stay out of sight, and check on how the roads run, and whether the Erasers have made camp anywhere."**

** "Okay. Then we can seed the roads with the nails and set up the tarp and oil." The Gasman grinned. "We just have to make sure not to get caught." **"Oh, you had better not get yourselves caught." Mom muttered darkly. "Don't worry Dr. M," Iggy said. "We were careful." I snorted, but other than that I stayed silent.

** "Yes. That would be bad," Iggy said with a straight face. "Now, **_**is it night yet?**_**" **"It's only morning. . ." Gazzy muttered.

** "Pretty much. I found you some dark clothes." **"That woulda been something. Seeing Iggy in dark clothes." Ella said, we all laughed. **The Gasman pressed a shirt and pants into Iggy's hands. "And I've got some too. So, you ready to roll?" He hoped Iggy couldn't hear how nervous he was. **"Yeah, um, that didn't work to well. I could here it bud." Iggy said, staring at Gazzy's nose. **This was great plan; they had to do it – but failure would be disastrous. And probably deadly. **

** "Yeah. I'm bringing Big Boy incase an opportunity arises." Iggy changed his clothes, then put their homemade bomb into a backpack and slung it onto his shoulders. **"ARE. YOU. _INSANE?_" I blurted out. "He must be, maybe the did put to much bird in your genes. _Birdbrain!_" Nudge said, agreeing with me. **"Don't worry," he said, as if he could see the Gasman's expression. "It can't go off till I set the timer. It's, like, a safety bomb." **"Fine. But you still are a birdbrain." I said, muttering the last part under my breath.

** The Gasman tried to smile. He cranked open the hall window as wide as it would go and perched **Angel and I snickered. After seeing Fang looking at me I said "What? He's _perched_ on the ledge." He still stared at me, making me feel like a little kid. "I don't have to explain my self to you." I said and stuck my tongue out at him. **on the ledge. His palms were sweating, and his stomach was all a flutter. But he had no choice – this was for Angel. This was to show people what would happen if they messed with his family.**

** He swallowed hard and launched himself out into the night air. It was amazing, to be able to spread his wings and fly. **_Max, Ella's mind is working up a storm to try and fly. _Angel told me. _Thanks, Hun. _**It was **_**great**_**. As he felt the night wind against his face, the Gasman's spirits rose. He felt strong, powerful, and dangerous. Not at all like an eight-year-old mutant freak.** Well, that's this Chapter. Here, Max." Mom said, as she grabbed a cookie and some milk for herself.

**Chapter 29 **I read.

"**Um, Ella?" **"Yeah?" she said, causing some to laugh. "Oh, Never mind." She muttered.

** The girl stiffened and jumped back.**

** I stepped forward a bit, **"oh great, we get to see how our secret was spilled for the first time." Fang said, Iggy snickered. "No," I said. "Thats not in this chapter. So ha!" **out of the underbrush, so she could see my face. "It's me," I said, feeling even stupider. "The girl from before."**

** It was getting dark and still raining, and I hoped she could recognize me. The dog trotted over, saw me, and gave a halfhearted woof of warning. **"hahaha, that's magnolia." Mom and Ella said.

** "Oh, **_**yeah.**_** Hey, thanks – for helping me," said Ella, squinting at me through the rain. "Are you okay? What are you doing?" She sounded wary and glanced around, like maybe in the time since she'd last seen me I had gone over to the side of evil. **"Max. on the dark side. Now, THATS a scary thought." Iggy said. Everyone else agreed with him.

** "I'm okay," I said lamely. "Well, actually, I guess I need help." Those words had never left my lips before. Thank God Jeb wasn't here to see me doing something so incredibly boneheaded and weak. **"You needed help Max." Mom said. If it was anyone but her I woulda shot a smart retort back at her, but since it was mom, I nodded my head and continued to read.

** "Oh," said Ella. "Gosh. Okay. Did those guys. . ." **

** "One of them managed to clip me with some shot, if you can believe that," I said, inching closer.**

** Ella gasped and put her hand over her mouth. "Oh, no! Why didn't you tell me? **"Cuz she's slow." I heard Iggy mutter. **You're hurt? **"Yup." **Why didn't you go to the hospital?** "Because that would've been disastrous."** Oh, my gosh, come in!"**

** She stepped back to give me room and urged Magnolia who had lumbered over and started sniffing my wet clothes with interest, away from me.**

** Guess what. **"What?" Iggy asked. **I hesitated. **"No!" **Here was the moment of decision. Until I stepped into that house, I could still turn and run, escape. Once I was in that house, it would be much harder. Call it a little quirk of my personality,** "You have a few of those." Iggy said, I tried to ignore him.** but I tend to freak out if I feel trapped anywhere. We all do – the flock, I mean. Living in a cage during your formative years can do that. **"Yup." "

** But I was honest enough with myself to know that I really couldn't go on like this – wet, cold, starving, and a little wonky from loss of blood. I had to suck it up and accept help. **"You know, if you had listened to me you wouldn't have been in this mess." Fang told me. "True, but if I _had_ listened to you I never would have met Mom, Gaz and Ig may have never caught back up with us, and who knows what would've happened to us!" I argued back.** From strangers. **

** "Are your parents home?" I asked.**

** "There's just my mom," said Ella. "No dad. Come on, let's get you inside. My mom can help. Magnolia, here, girl." Ella turned and strode toward the house. She clomped up wooden stips, then turned and looked for me. "Can you walk okay?"**

** "Uh-huh." Slowly, I headed toward Ella's small house, which was glowing with warmth and light. I felt lightheaded and panicky. This could be the last huge mistake in a long line of huge mistakes I had already made today. **"But it wasn't." I said seeing the look in Mom's eye. They were practically screaming _It could have been anyone! _

** I cradled my hurt arm with my good one.**

** "Oh, my God – is that blood?" Ella said, staring at my pale blue sweatshirt. "Oh, no, come on, we have to get you inside quick!" She shoved the door open with her shoulder almost tripping on Magnolia, **"Big galoot." **who trotted in quickly. "Mom! Mom! This girl needs help!"**

** I felt frozen. Stay or run. **"If I were there," began Fang. "I would have said run." I knew he was right, but I think I still would have stayed.** Stay or run. Stay? **"YES!" said Ella and Nudge. And with that I passed the book to Fang grabbed another cookie and settled in for another chapter.

**Chapter 30 **Fang read.

"**You think that wire will hold?" **"Aaaand we're back with the terrible two." Nudge said. "Oh Yea- HEY!" Gazzy whined while Iggy pouted.** the Gasman whispered. **

** Iggy nodded, frowning as he twisted the two cable ends together with pliers. He leaned against a pine tree for leverage, and when the wire was tight, he snapped on a cable clamp and pinched it shut. "That'll hold a bit," he whispered back. "Until a certain hummer hits it at top speed." **"You're gonna cause a car crash!" Mom said, appalled, making the 'terrible two' to cringe away. "Well, we know where Max got her temper from." Iggy whispered so mom couldn't hear. "HEY NOW." I said. Fang read on before more damage could be done.

** The Gasman nodded grimly. What a night. They had gotten so much done – Max couldn't have better herself. **"Hey, I could've done better!" I said, but after seeing their faces I amended my previous statement. "But, seeing as I wasn't there, That was a pretty good job." I smiled at them. "I'm proud of you guys. I taught you well." Their smiles returned after that.** He hoped Max had already rescued Angel by now. He hoped nothing had gone wrong. If the whitecoats had gotten hold of Angel . . . For just an instant he saw her, white and lifeless, laid on a cold steel slab while whitecoats lectured about her unusual bone structure. **Angel had gotten off of Fang the moment she _heard_ that sentance, she walked over to Gaz, sat down beside him and they hugged each other, not bothering to let go. They held onto each other as if the other was the last life preserver on the Titanic. It was so sweet, I couldn't help but watch for a second. **He swallowed and shook the dreadful image off. Once more, he glanced around, listening.**

** "Back home?" Iggy whispered. **

** "Yeah." Standing up, the Gasman pushed off from the ground, staying close to the trees. He followed Iggy's dark shadow as he braked and headed back west, toward home. From up here, the Gasman couldn't see any of their handiwork – which was a good thing. They didn't want the Erasers' chopper to be able to pick out the tarp or the trip wire until it was too late. **"Darn, you guys really did think of a lot!" I said, as Iggy fist bumbed Gaz with perfect precision.

** "We covered the ways in and out," he said to Iggy once they were at cruising height. "Oil slick, nails in the road, trip wire. That should do it." **"Goodness, remind me never to get on your bad side." Ella said and we laughed.

** Iggy nodded. "I'm bummed we couldn't use Big Boy," he said**

"**But I don't want to waste it. We have to actually see them first. I mean, **_**you**_** do."**

** "Maybe tomorrow," the Gasman said encouragingly. "We'll go out and see what havoc we've wreaked." **"Wrought." I said, along with Mom, Ella and Nudge, not to mention Iggy. "Whatever." the Gasman said. I smiled as I read the next two lines.

** "Wrought," said Iggy.**

** "Whatever," said the Gasman, **Everyone was laughing here. **breathing deeply in the cool night air. Wait till Max found out how cool they had been. **"Yeah, super cool. Great job boys. I knew I'd raised you the right way." I smiled at them and Gaz High-fived Iggy and once again, they were head on. I handed the book to Fang, and got ready for the next chapter.

*******A/N*********

**Hey guys! So I'm updating tonight, because I don't know if I'll have time to do it tomorrow. . . Family trip! YAY! ^_^ anyway. . . .So i hope you liked this installment of Maximum Ride All Over Again. . . And to address a couple issues lets start here:**

**FAQ:**

**Q: Are you going to do all the books?**

**A: That's my plan. But not in this story. AE will be the only one in this story, I'll let you know more as we approach that. Besides, let's face it. I _am_ a high school student, entering my Junior year. And I'm gonna really need to focus this year, so I don't know how often I'll be able to update, but I'm gonna try and write as many chapters as I can before school starts so that all I'll have to do is click 'Update'**

**And! I'm only going through Max. As stated in the PROLOGUE: _Set one year _after MAX. So obviously, I'm not doing Fang. . . . not yet at least ;) We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.**

**Q: How did the parts that Max wasn't there for get put in if Max wrote the books?**

**A: Well she, um, I don't really have an answer for that. Sorry guys, didn't really think that through. . . Maybe Jeb? the Voice? I know she doesn't have it yet but she would've when she wrote them. . . .? **

**Q (well kind of): Update Soon?**

**A: I'm trying! I really am! Mondays, and Fridays. And Maybe _IF_ and I'm talkin a pretty big 'if' here, _IF_ I get enough chapter's written in advance, and keep it that way, then I'll see about updating 3 times a week. But don't get your hopes up. My mom's got me doing a lot right now. Grrr. Anyway. Like I said, I'm trying.**

**I hope that covers it for now, If there are any other questions. PM them to me or ask in your reviews (Which i'm counting on. . .Way to go btw! 82 reviews already! ^_^) and I'll see about adding all of my FAQ to my profile or your next set in the one of the next chapters. :) Thanks for reading! Time to end this ridiculously long Authors note.**

**Until Next Time**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	18. Chapter's 31, 32, & 33

**AN: . . . . .Ummm . . . . apology at the bottom. . . .? **

**I own nothing. . . . .**

* * *

Fang took the book and began to read.

**Chapter 31**

**A dark-haired woman with worried eyes **"That's mom." Said Ella with a little giggle. **opened the door wider. "What is it, Ella? What's wrong?"**

** "Mom, this is -" Ella stopped, her hand in midair. **"You hadn't told her your name yet?" Angel asked. "No, I still wasn't sure if I was gonna go through with it or not." I answered truthfully.

** "Max," I said. Why didn't I give a fake name? **"Because you weren't thinking like you should have been." Fang said and smacked me upside the head. "Um, _OW._" I said, rubbing where he had smacked me. **Because I didn't **_**think**_** of it.**

** "My friend Max." She's the girl I told you about, the one who saved me from Jose and Dwayne and them. She saved me. But they shot her."**

** "Oh, no!" exclaimed Ella's mother. "Please, Max, come in. Do you want me to call your parents?" **"No, need. You're right there." Iggy said and I smiled.

** I stood on the doormat, reluctant to drip rain, **"That was thoughtful, Max." mom said and smiled at me. "yeah unlike other times whe- OW." Iggy was cut off by my hand smacking _him_ upside the head. Nudge and Ella and Gazzy laughed. **and blood, on their floor. "Um . . ." **

** Then Ella's mom saw my bloodstained sweatshirt, and her eyes flew up to my face. My cheek was scratched, one eye was black. The whole situation changed in that instant.**

** "Let me get my stuff," she said gently. "Take off your shoes and go with Ella to the bathroom."**

** I sloshed down the hallway in my wet socks. "What stuff is she going to get?" I whispered.**

** Ella turned on a light and ushered me into an old-fashioned bathroom with green tiled floors and a rust ring around the sink drain.**

** "Her doctor stuff," Ella whispered **"Why are you whispereing?" Gazzy whispered. "It was kind of late, the house was dark. I don't know gaz." I told him. **back. "She's a vet, so she's good with injuries. Even on people." **

** A vet! I started laughing weakly **"Yeah, i was pretty sure you were going crazy." Ella said and Nudge laughed. "And you _know_ she's insane!" She said, still laughing her head off. One look from me shut her up real fast though. **and had to sit down on the edge of the tub. A vet. Wait till they found out how appropriate that was.**

** Ella's mom came in with a plastic box of first aid supplies. "Ella, maybe you could get Max some juice or something. She probably needs some sugar and fluids."**

** "Juice would be **_**great**_**," I said with feeling.**

** Ella nodded and hurried down the hall.**

** "I take it you don't want me to call your parents?" Ella's mom said softly starting to cut away the neck of my sweatshirt.**

** "Uh, no." **_**Hello, lab? May I speak to a test tube, please?** _"You didn't even think you had actual parents?" Ella asked and we all, or most of us anyway, shook our heads. "That's so sad." "You got that right." I told her.

**"Or the police, either, right?" **Everyone gave a collective shudder as we all remembered what happened with our previous law enforcement encounters.

** "No need to get them involved," I agreed, then I sucked in my breath as her gentle fingers found the wound on my upper arm. "I think the bullet only grazed me."**

** "Yes, I think you're right, but it's pretty deep and messy. And over here –" I sat frozen, staring straight ahead, as all my senses tensed. I was taking a huge risk here. You have no idea how huge. I had never, ever let someone outside the flock see my wings. But this was one situation I couldn't fix by myself. **"You must have hated that." Nudge said, Angel laughed and Ella nodded. I just grimaced. **I **_**hated **_**that.**

** Ella's mom frowned slightly. She finished cutting the neck and then stretched the shirt off, leaving me in my tank top. I sat there like a statue, feeling a chilled coldness inside that had nothing to do with being wet.**

** "Here." Ella handed me a big glass of orange juice. I practically choked, trying to drink it down as fast as possible. **"Hahahahaha," came from _nearly_ everyone. **Oh, my God, it was so good.**

** "What's –" **"A-aaaand the birds out of the cage now." Iggy said. **Ella's mom said, her fingers skimming along the edge of my wing where it folded and tucked into an indentation next to my spine, between my shoulder and my waist. She leaned over to see better.**

** I stared at my wet socks, my toes clenching.**

** She turned me slightly, and I let her.**

** "Max." Her dark brown eyes were concerned, tired, and upset, all at once. **"How can anyone feel so many emotions at once?" Gazzy asked. "Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean its not possible" Nudge replied, making us all laugh. "You've been watching too much Harry Potter, Nudge." I said.** "Max, what is this?" she asked gently, touching the feathers that just barely visible.**

** I swallowed hard, knowing that I had just lost any hope for a normal connection with Ella and her mom. **"That's what you think." Ella said, crossing her arms across her chest. **In my mind I reviewed the house layout: a right down the hall, a quick left, and through the front door. It would take only a few seconds. I could do it.** Her stubborn/smug face faltered as she heard this. "You actually thought about leaving." She said. Mom's face was tinged with sadness too. "Well, _yeah_. I had to. I wouldn't be me if I didn't go over the worst possible scenario. Besides, it doesn't matter now anyway. You know how it turns out." I smiled brightly ** I could probably grab my boots on the way out too.**

** "It's a . . . wing," I whispered. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ella frown. "My, um, wing." Silence. "It got hurt too."**

** I took a deep breath, feeling like I was going to hurl, then slowly and painfully extended my wing just a bit, so Ella's mom could see where I'd been shot.**

** Their eyes widened. And widened. And widened. Until I began to expect them to just pop out and land on the floor. **"You make us sound like cartoon characters." ella said, laughing at the same time. I shrugged. "Eh, what can I say? If I hadn't felt been worried you were going to hand me over to the school I would have been rolling on the floor laughing." I told them.

** "Wha' . . ." Ella began wonderingly.**

**Her mom leaned over and examined it more closely. Amazingly, she was trying to act casual, like, oh, okay, you have a **_**wing**_**. No biggie.**

** I was practically hyperventilating, feeling light-headed and kind of tunnel-visiony.**

** "Yeah, your wing got it too," Ella's mom murmured, extending it ever so gently. "I think the shot nicked a bit of bone." She sat back and looked at me.**

** I stared at the floor, feeling the weight of her gaze. I could not believe I was in the situation. Fang was going to kill me. And after I was dead, he would kill me again. **A few people laughed at this, knowing that Fang probably had already killed me in 10 different ways in his head by now.

_**And I deserved it.**_

** Ella's mom took a deep breath and let it out. "Okay, Max," she said in a calm, controlled voice. "First we have to clean the wounds and stop the bleeding. When's the last time you had a tetanus shot?"**

** I stared up into her eyes. Ella's mom seemed no-nonsense and . . . incredibly caring. About me. I had become a huge crybaby in the last couple days, so I wasn't surprised to feel tears haze my vision. **

** "Um, never?"**

** "Okay. I can take care of that too."**

"Wow." Fang said.

"I didn't know you would react so cool-ly." Nudge said. "That was so much better than anyone else's reaction!" She said.

"I mean, Anne was pretty calm and collected, but still." Angel said, stammering over the name a little bit.

"But mom was the best." I said. "and so much more awesome than any of the others that found out." Mom beamed at me.

Nudge reached out for the book and started to read again.

**Chapter 32**

"**Come on, come on," the Gasman breathed. **"And now," Iggy said, rubbing his hands together. "We get to hear about our turn again!" **He was holding on to the pine branch so hard that he could barely feel his fingers anymore. **"Loosen up some Gaz." Angel said, laughing slightly.

** "What's happening?" Iggy demanded impatiently. "Tell me everything."**

** It was early morning, and the two of them were perched **There were a few more snickers at this. I _tried_ not too, but it didn't work. Fang just shook his head at me. **near the top of an old-growth pine overlooking one of the abandoned logging roads. They had cased the situation, and the Gasman had been right: At least two Erasers, maybe more, had set up a rough camp not far from where the helicopter had landed. It seemed clear they were looking for the rest of the flock. It didn't matter whether they wanted to kill them or only kidnap them: Capture was unthinkable.**

** The Gasman still had nightmares **He was blushing here. "Did you have to put this in, Max?" He asked me with those adorable piercing blue eyes. "Sorry, Gaz. It's just how it went." I said and finished with a shrug. **in which he found himself back at the School. He dreamed that whitecoats took blood, injected him with various drugs to see how he reacted, made him run and jump and then swallow radioactive dye so they could study his circulation. Days and endeless weeks and years of feeling sick, hurting, vomiting, being exhausted, being stuck in a cage. **"This is just sick." Mom said. "If that's the Gasman's nightmare, then I'd hate to know what You three dream about." She said, indicating me, Fang, and Iggy. "Trust me. You don't want to know." All three of us said at the same time. "We all have them." Nudge said with a shudder. **The Gasman would die before he went back there. Angel would rather have died too, he knew – but she hadn't had a choice.**

** "The Hummer's **_**coming,**_**" the Gasman said under his breath. **"And this is where the car trap comes in." Mom said with a grimace.

** "On the right road?" **

** "Uh-huh. And they're driving too fast." The Gasman gave a tight, worried smile. **"why are you worried?" I asked the Gasman. "You'll see soon." is all he replied.

** "They're not practicing safe driving habits. Tsk. What a shame." **"_NOT_" Iggy said.

** "Okay, they're coming up," the Gasman muttered. "Another quarter mile."**

** "Can you see the tarp?"**

** "No."**

** The Gasman watched tensely as the muddied black Humvee sped down the unpaved logging road. "Any second now," he whispered to Iggy, who was practically vibrating with excitement.**

** "Hope they're wearing their seat belts. **_**Not!**_**"**

** Then it happened. **A few of us cringed.

** It was like watching a movie. One second, the boxy black vehicle was tearing along the road, and the next second, it swerved violently to the left with an audible squealing of breaks. It began a slow, graceless series of jerky spins down the road, then gave an unexpected jump toward the trees on one side. It hit the trees at an angle and went airborne, sailing upside down about fifteen eet before lading with a heavy crunching sound. **"Wo-ow." "Woah." and a collective shudder rang through out the room. Gazzy and Ig hi-fived each other perfectly.

** "Whoa," the Gasman said softly. "That was **_**incredible.**_**"**

**"You have two seconds to give me the picture," Iggy said irritably.**

** "It hit the oil, all right. It spun, hit the trees, and did a flip," the Gasman told him. "Now it's on its back, like a big, ugly, dead beetle." **"Good discription." Nudge said, her voice thick with sarcasm, shivering yet again.

** "Yes!" Iggy punched the air, making their branch sway. "Signs of life?"**

** "Uh . . . oh, yeah. Yeah, one of them just punched out a window. Now they're climbing out. They look pretty dang mad. They're walking, so they're not that hurt." The Gasman wanted the Erasers out of the picture, so he wouldn't have to worry about them anymore. At the same time, he wasn't sure how he would feel if they had actually died. **I tilted my head. but he held a finger in the air.

** Then he remembered that they had taken Angel. **"okay, then. Now you don't mind killing those disgusting jerks." Mom said. I nodded, I had felt the same way when I was 10, I didn't know how I felt about killing, but after a couple reminders of what all they had done at the School, what can I say? You would feel the same way.

** He decided he was probably okay with them suffering a life-threatening accident. **A few chuckles from the flock were thrown throughout the room. "Thats better." I muttered.

** "Shoot." Iggy sounded disappointed. "Any point in drobbing Big Boy on them right now?" **I narrowed my eyes and wasted a pointed glance in Iggy's direction.

** The Gasman shook his head, remembered Iggy couldn't see it, and said, "I don't think so. They're talking on walkie-talkies. Now they're heading straight into the woods. We'd probably cause a huge forest fire or something." **"And _THAT _is why we don't play with bombs in the forest." I said.

** "Hmm." Iggy frowned. "Okay. We need to regroup, come up with Phase Two. How about we hang at the old cabin for a minute?" **A collective sigh rang through the room, We all liked the cabin.

** "Cool," said the Gasman. "Let's go. We've done enough good for one day."**

Nudge finished her chapter and passed it on to Gazzy who cleared his throat and began in (Brace yourself now.) a narrator's voice, you know, like you hear on all the movie trailers? yeah. It was pretty cool.

**Chapter 33**

**Eighty years ago, loggers had used a makeshift cabin nearby as a base during logging season. Abandoned for the last thirty years, it was practically in ruins. Which made it an especially good clubhouse for the flock. **"Most definitely." I said, trying in vain not to laugh at Gaz's voice.

** "So Phase One is complete," **Gazzy said in a perfect version of Iggy's voice. **said Iggy, sitting in a broken plastic lawn chair. He sniffed the air. "We haven't been here in ages."**

** "Uh-uh,"said the gasman, glancing around. "In case you're wondering, it's still a dump." **"Since when was it ever _not_ a dump?" Nudge asked and I shrugged. Ella laughed at us, while mom had a smile on her face.

** "It's always been a dump," Iggy said. "That's why we like it." **"Correction: 'That's why _SOME_ of us like it.'" Angel said.

** "Man, I can't get over it – That tarp full of oil so totally wiped the Hummer out," the Gasman said. "It was kind of – scary. To really do it."**

** Iggy opened the backpack and took out Big Boy, running his sensitive fingers over the clock duct-taped to the explosive package.**

** "We have to eliminate the Erasers," he murmured. "So they can't ever hurt us again."**

** "So they can't ever take Angel again," **"Awe," came from Nudge, Ella, Angel and Mom. He really was a great big brother. I smiled proudly at him as his cheeks blossomed into red.** the Gasman said, his eyes narrowing. "I saw we bomb the chopper."**

** Iggy nodded and stood up. "Yeah. Listen, let's get out of here, get back home, make more plans."**

** In the next instant, **"Or not." Ella whispered as she started tensing up. **the faintest vibration of the floorboards made Iggy freeze. The Gasman quickly looked at him, saw Iggy's sightless eyes flike to and fro.**

** "Did you hear?" the Gasman whispered, and Iggy nodded, holding up his hand. "Maybe a raccoon –"**

** "Not in the daytime," Iggy barely mouthed back.**

** A slight scratching on the door made the Gasman's blood turn to ice in his veins. Surely it was just an animal, a squirrel or somethi –**

** "Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in." **"Oh, no." mom said. "Not again." **The whispered voice, serene and angelic, seemed to float through the cracks in the door like poisonous smoke. It was an Eraser's voice a voice that could ask you to jump off a cliff and you'd do it. **Mom and Ella shivered in unison.

** Heart pounding, the Gasman quickly scanned the room. The door. Two windows, one in the main room and a tiny one in the bathroom. He doubted he could fit through the one in the bathroom, much less Iggy.**

** The Eraser scratched at the door again, and the hairs on the back of the Gasman's neck stood up. Okay, the window in here then. He began to edge his way over to it, knowing that Iggy would be able to follow the almost imperceptible sound.**

_**Crash!**_ Mom winced, as well as Ella. The flock had no need too, we'd been through much worse, and knew they would be safe soon anyway. **The door burst open, splintered wood flying through the air like darts.**

** "Eight o'clock!" the Gasman whispered, telling Iggy where the window was as his brain registered the hulking Eraser filling the doorway. His muscles tensed for the leap through the window – but its light was suddenly blocked **"Darn, are you serious?" Mom said. **by a huge, grinning head.**

** "Hey, piggy, piggy, piggy," a second Eraser taunted through the dirt-clouded glass.**

** Years of Max-enforced training **"You know it!" I said, slightly punching the air . . . receiving yet _another_ slap to the back of the head. "Will you stop that?" I asked. "Never." Fang said enunciating every syllable to make it as annoying as possible. **kicked in as adrenaline sped through the Gasman's body. Door blocked. Window blocked. They were surrounded, with no clean escape available. It was going to be a fight, he realized, already preparing himself.**

** More than likely a fight to the death. **I rolled my eyes with Nudge and Angel. It wasn't that bad. Really, Gazzy could handle himself, and Iggy was there beside him. But Mom was beside herself with worry. I motioned for Angel to read on so she wouldn't have to worry anymore.

**AN:**

**Okay guys. This was _not_ supposed to happen like this. I really intended to update on Monday as well as Friday, and well. . . It didn't work obviously. . . **

**I had a long weekend last weekend on my 'vacation.' But I'm back! And I'll try really _really REALLY_ Hard to make this up to you. . . I'll figure something out. . . .**

**And if you would still review telling me not how much you hate me, but how you liked/disliked the CHAPTER.**

Thanks to all my readers and reviewers!

**I hope you enjoyed this installment of Maximum Ride All Over Again.**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	19. Chapter's 34, 35, & 36

Angel took the book from Nudge fast and started to read.

**Chapter 34**

**Nudge **"Awe, darn. Why does it keep changing?" Ella asked. I shrugged, "Well, I expect we'll be back together, minus Angel, before Lunch." **woke up four times before she finally rolled over and pried her eyes open.**

** It was barely dawn. Fang was gone. **"WHAT?" Came from Mom, Ella and me. What? I didn't know what happened to them. . well . . . I kind of did, but still. **First Angel, then Max – now Fang. **"Will you quit staring at me like that?" Fang said calmly. "It's starting to get on my nerves." He added quietly.

** Gone! **"You scared me nearly to death. I thought I had lost everyone." Nudge said in a whisper. "I wouldn't do that." Fang said in a matching tone. **Nudge looked around, crawling to the opening of the cave on her hands and knees. There's nothing like panic to really wake you up, get all your senses going. Nudge felt keenly alert, frightened, too many thoughts starting to rush in her brain.**

** Movement caught her eye, and her head swiveled in line with a loose formation of hawks wheeling through the crisp, white blue sky. **"Phew." Mom said. "At least they weren't Erasers." **They were so beautiful, powerful, graceful, completely one with the sky and the earth and the rough cliffs.**

_**One of them was Fang. **_"And there you go. I hadn't left." He said with a smug face, receiving many glances. I smacked the back of his head. Hard.

** Nudge stood quickly, almost bumping her head on the low ceiling of the cave. **Iggy laughed.** Without hesitation, she leaped off the cliff **"What is it with you two and jumping off cliffs? QUIT TRYING TO KILL YOURSELVES!" Iggy said. I smacked him side the head and told him, "If you say that again, I will let Angel and Nudge give you a makeover, and have Angel make you wear it all. Day. Long." That shut him up, as well as everyone else. I smiled to myself as Angel read. **edge, out into the sky. Her wings unfolded and caught the wind like sails, and suddenly she was a small brown boat soaring across an endless blue sea. **I kept my eye on Ella, though this time, she was just smiling at the image in her head. I hoped it wouldn't get a whole lot further. _Though, if she's anything like you. . ._ Angel told me. _Don't you dare. Finish that sentence. _I told her.

** She approached the hawks, and after hard, glinting glances at her, they moved so she could join them. Fang was watching her, and Nudge was surprised by his face – how very alive he looked, how . . . untight. **"That was the first time I ever really saw you somewhat happy; Not completely worry free, but almost." **Fang always looked very tight, somehow, taut, like the string on a bow. Now he looked loose and free and alive. **I smiled at him, that was the face I lo-liked most.

** "Morning," he said.**

** "I'm hungry," **"Figures." I said under my breath, that girl is always hungry. **said Nudge.**

** He nodded. **"I knew what to do." Fang said, and I stuck my tongue out. **"Town about three minutes away. Follow me." He tilted his body in a new way that led him up and away without moving his wings. **"It's a lot easier, I've almost forgotten how to do it otherwise." Gazzy said. **It was cool, like a plane. Nudge tried it, but it didn't work as well for her. She would practice.**

** Below them was a thin two-lane highway, clotted with a last few shops and businesses before the road wound away into the desert. Fang dipped his head: a fast-food place had a large Dumpster **"Ew, tell me you didn't." Ella said, wilting. **out back. Even from up this high, Nudge could see a worker tossing cardboard boxes of stuff into it, getting ready for a new day.**

** They circled a couple times till they were sure the worker wasn't coming out again, then dropped quickly, like bombs, tucking their wings in tight with just the feather tips guiding their descent. Thirty feet above the Dumpster, they blew their wings out again, braking sharply, then they landed, almost silently, **"Seriously, _I_ was silent." Fang was not gonna let this go. "Whatever you say, Fang. Whatever floats your boat." I said.** on the metal edge of the Dumpster.**

** "Nirvana," Fang said, pawing through food that was still good but not sellable. "Burger?"**

** Nudge thought, then shook her head."I don't know – after watching the hawks shredding little animals – oh, but look, here's a couple salads. And some apple pies! Bonus!" **

** They tightened the drawstrings of their windbreakers around their waists. Then, working fast, they started stuffing food inside their jackets, anything that would travel. Three minutes after they'd landed, they were airborne again, lumpy and smiling. **"You really did have to eat out of a dumpster." Mom said, incredulous. Her face turned determined and I could practically read her mind. She wasn't ever gonna let that happen to us again. "Don't worry Mom, I've got it under control." I smiled and pointed ever so slightly to Iggy. She smiled brightly at me.

** It was amazing how much better Nudge felt after eating. She sighed and sat cross-legged in the cave entrance, watching the hawks fly. **Mom was only slightly envious, but you could tell she wanted to see the great birds.

** Fang finished his fifth **"Only fifth?" I asked. He shrugged, "What? They were from a _dumpster._ **thin hamburger patty and wiped his fingers on his jeans. "You know, I think the way they swoop and stuff is like a message to the other hawks," he said. "Like they're telling them where there's game or where they'll be or something. I haven't figured it out yet. But I will." **"And now he sits and stares for hours." Iggy said. "Trying to concentrate in utter silence." "Yup." Fang agreed. "But only because it annoys the heck outta Max, and you." I laughed along with most others in the room.

** "Oh." Nudge sat back on her heels and spread her wings out, enjoying the feel of the sun warming her feathers. She tried to be quiet and not disturb Fang, **"and that'll last around 5 minutes." Iggy said. **but after five minutes **Nudge smiled sheepishly. **she was close to meltdown.**

** "Fang? We've just got to go and find Max," she said. "Or should we go on and try to find Angel?" **"On your own?" Gazzy said. "That would have been suicide!" Iggy said. Angel was just watching, not too sure how Nudge's plan would work.

** Fang pulled his attention away from the hawks with difficulty. "We're going to circle back, look for Max," he said. "She must have – run into something."**

** Nudge nodded solemnly, unable to define what kind of something would have kept Max from them. She didn't want to think about it.**

** Fang stood, tall and dark against the weathered sandstone of the rock cliff. He looked down at her, his face calm and patient, his eyes reflecting no light whatsoever. "You ready?"**

** Nudge jumped to her feet, brushing sand off her butt. "Absolutely. Um, where do you think we should –" **

** But Fang was already gone, snatched away by the wind, borne upward by air rising from the canyon below.**

** Nudge took a small running leap off the cliff after him.**

** "Tarzan!" **Mom laughed, but not louder then Ella. "I think you mean to do the Tarzan yell." She said after a second. Nudge cocked her head, looking like a poor puppy. "You can't tell me you've never seen Tarzan!" We all shook our heads no. Mom nodded beside El, "Well we'll just have to fix this then." Speaking of poor puppies, Total was just now trotting down the stairs, clambering into Angel's lap. **she yelled. Whatever that was supposed to mean. **

"I wondered where you were Total. Finishing you're _Beauty Sleep_?" I asked him. He looked up at me groggily.

"What?" he said. "I haven't been sleeping well."

"You should have come to me in the first place Total." Mom said, almost worried. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," he said sadly. "I just haven't been feeling right. Not sleeping real well, I haven't been able to fly as well as well as I have been." He started listing symptoms for her and she was going through a few diagnostics in her mind.

"Let me know right away if you start feeling feverish or sick to your stomach, okay Total?" He nodded in response.

Meanwhile, Angel had handed the book to me, getting up to go get Total a bowl of cereal and a cup of orange juice. Mom and Ella didn't object to the sudden skip in order. Content just to listen. I started as soon as Angel was back in her seat.

**Chapter 35**

**I **"Back to Max." Iggy muttered. **woke up warm, dry, bandaged, and safe.**

** I felt like death. **"How many times have you felt like _that_ before?" Fang asked. I shrugged, "Too many to count now."

** As always, as soon as I was conscious, I panicked for a second, not knowing where I was. My brain anxiously registered flowered wallpaper. A soft, warm bed that smelled like laundry softener. I looked down. I was wearing a huge T-sirt that had a cartoon character on it, one I didn't know. **"Perry the Platypus." Ella said, making sure we all knew which one it was. Of course, by now, everyone knew who Perry was. Gazzy made that funny, weird, chirping noise for us all.

** I was at Ella's house. I was supposed to be rescuing Angel – if she was even still alive.** "You've _got_ to stop thinking like that." Nudge said and Mom agreed.** Fang and Nudge were probably sticking pins in a Max doll by now. **"Only in my head." Fang said. **I didn't blame them.**

** Now that I was awake, the pain in my shoulder and wing hit me all over again, a stinging ache that radiated out like a starburst. Ugh. I remembered once I'd dislocated my shoulder, **"Oh great, a Jeb memory." Iggy said. **sparring with Fang. It had hurt so bad, and I had staggered around clutching my shoulder and trying not to cry. Jeb had calmed me down, talking to me, taking my mind off it, and then, when I least expected it, he had popped it right back into place. Instantly, all the pain was gone. He'd smiled and stroked my sweaty hair off my forehead and gotten me some lemonade. And I'd thought, **_**This is what a dad would do. **_"If only I knew then," I started, but Fang helped me switch gears real fast. "Then this would've hurt even more." He finished quiet enough so only Iggy and I could hear. _**This is better than what a dad would do.**_

**I still missed Jeb so much it made my throat close. **"Not anymore, you ba-ad person." I caught myself before anything could come out of my mouth. Iggy snorted. "Now you just cause headache, heartache and a powerful rage when I see you." I said and mom grimaced. She may still trust him, but he's still off my good list.

** Suddenly, I froze, because my bedroom door was opening very, very slowly and quietly.**

_**Run!**_"I'm sorry we scared you, Max." Mom said. "Yeah, we didn't mean too." Ella agreed. **my mind screamed as my hands curled into claws against the sheets. **_**Fly!**_

** Ella's brown eyes, curious and eager, peered around the door. She spoke softly over her shoulder. "I think she's awake."**

** Ella's mom appeared. "Morning, Max. You hungry? Do you like pancakes?" **"That was the best thing I'd heard in a long time." I said.

** "And little breakfast sausages?" Ella added. "And fruit and stuff?"**

** I hoped it only **_**felt **_**like I was drooling on my nightshirt. **"You do have a tendency to do that." Angel muttered, causing me to turn a slight shade of pink and everyone in the room to laugh. **I nodded. They smiled and left, and then I saw the clothes on my bed. My own jeans and socks had been washed, and there was a lavender sweatshirt with large slits newly cut into the back. **"And that's where you got your lavender sweatshirt." Nudge said.

** Ella's mom was taking care of me, like Jeb had. I didn't know how to act, what to say.**

** A girl could get used to this.**

I finished the sentence and passed the book onto Fang. Everyone stared at me. "what?" I asked.

"Was that really the end of the chapter?" Total asked, he had been silently eating his breakfast, listening.

"Yea-ah." I said. "It's not my fault it was so short."

Angel shrugged, Gazzy smiled, Mom stayed silent, Ella was ready for the next chapter.

Fang read hoping to get through soon. And hoping he got a short one like me.

**Chapter 36**

**No matter how quickly the Erasers killed them, **"Oh ya-ay." Ella said, "We're back to the terrible two." And total sat up. "wait, what?" _Ange? Will you please fill Total in on the story? _She nodded and Total's eyes glazed over and after a minute his little mouth dropped comically into a little 'o' shape.** the Gasman was sure it would feel like forever.**

** "Up and away," **"You do realize you're _inside, _right?" Mom asked. Iggy smiled, "Yup." **Iggy breathed, inching slightly closer to him.**

** Up and away? The Gasman frowned. Iggy had to be kidding. **_**Straight**_** up?**

_**Crash!**_"Eek!" Ella squeaked. **The Gasman jumped as the window behind him shattered with a shower of glass and broken wood. An Eraser pushed through the ragged opening with a silent grin.**

** "Guess what?" **"Fang," Angel started. "can you, please, _never _sound like that again?" She gave a little shiver. And I agreed; it was to scarily close. **the first Eraser asked with a pleasant smile. "We got the little one – they don't need you two alive." **"And my world just died." Gazzy said quietly. "though I couldn't think then, looking back, letting it all hit me…" he trailed off and Angel embraced him.** They laughed, the sound like deep bells ringing, and then their faces began to change. The Gasman couldn't help grimacing as they morphed, becoming more wolflike, their muzzles extending, their teeth protruding until it looked like they had a mouthful of knives. **

** "Boys, boys," one almost purred. "Didn't anyone ever tell you? You can run, but you can't hide." His shiny dark hair was becoming thicker, and more hair sprouted grotesquely on his arms and hands. He literally licked his chops and rubbed his huge, hairy hands together, as if he'd learned how to be a bad guy from cartoons. ** "They do sound like something from the cartoons," Ella said. "If only they could be beaten as easily."

** "**_**Ready?**_**"**

** Iggy's voice was so faint, his lips so still that the Gasman wasn't sure he'd heard anything. Every second seemed oddly stretched out. His hands closed into fists by his sides. He was ready. Sure.**

** "This freak's **_**blind**_**," **"He is _not _a freak." Everyone said harshly. **one Eraser said, gesturing toward Iggy. "Don't worry, kid. It'll be all over soon, and you won't have to worry about being blind anymore. But it's a shame they didn't give you one of their new eyes – like mine." **"Like I would WANT the kind of eye he has." Iggy scoffed.

** The Gasman looked up at him, and a feeling of revulsion rose in his throat as he saw what the Eraser meant. Set deep into one orbital socket was a stainless steel ball. A red laserlike glow made it look as though it was filled with blood. The Eraser grinned and turned his eye to the Gasman. A red dot appeared on the Gasman's shirt and, as he watched, it slowly began to burn a small hole in the fabric. **"Um, _ow._" Nudge said.

** The Erasers laughed. **"Sick." Ella said.

** "You left before they could fix you up with the latest technology," one said. "Your loss."**

_**Yeah, right,**_** the Gasman thought in disgust.**

** "How about it, piggies?" the first Eraser asked. "Do you want to try to run? Who knows – you might get lucky. For a little while." **"Just go. Go. Go." Mom muttered to herself.

** Grinning with anticipation, the Eraser drew closer.**

** "**_**On three.**_**"**

** Once again, the Gasman wasn't sure if he'd heard Iggy or if he was imagining it. **"Wow," Ella said. "Can you try talking like that now?" mom asked. "Sure." Iggy whispered. I could just barely hear it, and I was three feet away from him. Mom sat there, waiting. A second passed. "Well, did you do it?" She asked. Iggy laughed, Nudge snickered. I answered her. "Our hearing, it's about 20 times better than yours."

** "**_**One."**_

** The Gasman's toes clenched inside his sneakers.**

** "**_**Two.**_**"**

** When Iggy shouted, "Three!" the Gasman leaped straight into the air, unfurling his wings with a huge **_**whoosh**_**. With a roar of anger, one Eraser grabbed the Gasman's foot and yanked. Above him, Iggy burst through the rotting roof of the cabin, out into the sky. The Gasman broke free of the Eraser's grip. **"Yes." Mom said.

** Then he was pushing through the shattered roof, tucking his wings in tight to get through the hole. Outside he lost altitude too fast and landed clumsily on a rickety roof beam. He slid sideways, grabbing roof shingles that came off in his hands. **"Darn, get outta there Gaz." Ell said.

** Iggy yelled from twenty feet above him, "**_**Gasser! Move!"**_

** Just as he slid over the edge of the roof, the Gasman spread his wings. He pushed down hard with all his strength, then pulled his wings up and pushed them down again. As he surged up to meet Iggy, Iggy threw a package down into the cabin. **"This outta be good." Nudge said, sounding almost a little excited. "How can you say that in a time like this?" Mom asked. Nudge shrugged,

** "Move, move, move!" Iggy yelled, flapping like crazy. Within seconds, they were a hundred yards away. **"Niiiice," I said. "but is that far enough?"

_**Boom!**_** Only it was more like **_**ba-ba-boooooom!**_

** The two boys recoiled from the blast, tumbling backward in the air from the shock wave. **"Yup." **The Gasman righted himself, eyes wide, as a fireball ten yards in diameter rose from where the cabin had been. **"Very cool!" Ella said, I agreed. Though I wasn't gonna show it. They blew up our old hiding place, not that I'd ever take us back there but still.

** He was speechless.**

** After the fireball from Big Boy disintegrated, the cabin burned brightly, its old, rotted wood consumed as instantly as kindling. Flames reached for the sky, licking at the green trees nearby, snaking along the ground as brittle brown pine needles caught fire. **"Woah." Mom said.

** God, it was beautiful.**

** "Well," Iggy said after a long while, "that takes care of **_**them**_**."**

** The Gasman nodded, feeling sick. One dark body had flown upward in the blast, falling back to earth as a glowing coal. The other Eraser had crawled a few feet away from the cabin, a burning silhouette that had collapsed, its outlines blurred by flame. **"Ick." Nudge said and Angel nodded her head.

** "Unless they escaped," Iggy added.**

** Of course Iggy hadn't seen anything. **Iggy rolled his sightless eyes. Unfazed as usual by this. **The Gasman cleared his throat. "No," he said. "They're dead." He felt slightly queasy, guilty, and dirty. **"That's how I felt after Ari. The first time, I mean." I said. Mom looked at me, cocked her head, then shook it. "You'll find out later." I said. **Then he remembered Angel, how she'd shared the last of the ice cream with him three nights ago. She was so small, and God only knew what horrible things they were doing to her. His jaw hardened.**

** "Take **_**that**_**," he muttered. "That was for my sister, for **_**Angel**_**, you scum-sucking jerks." **I couldn't help but awe; it was too precious.

** Then he saw the black hummer, its hood crumpled, driving fast toward the burning cabin. An Eraser was leaning out of the passenger window, looking through binoculars. **"Those butt-holes are still there! Get outta there." Ella said. Total also looked worried, thought not too badly. I guess he'd figured that we got to him in one piece, so they must have made it out of there safely.

** "Come on, Iggy," said the Gasman. "Let's get out of here."**

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Fang said, setting the book down. "How bout a short flight anyone?" Everyone in the flock was very eager, we jumped up in unison. Mom said she'd take Ella, they needed to go get some groceries. It was a good stopping place for now. Besides, mom had to go to work around 1 pm. So we headed our separate ways, Ella looking slightly disappointed. I promised myself I'd talk to her at lunch, that should give us enough time to get through much of the book.

"Everyone ready?" I asked as we stood in my sister's room (The one with the biggest window's).

**AN:**

**All right guys, that's it till I get home from the beach. I gotta say, it's lookin like i'll be only updating _maybe_ once a week, maybe even only once every two. Hope you enjoyed it!**

**I need your reviews! You guys are awesome in continuing to do so! I love getting reviews from new people! ^_^ **

**~Jezi Raewin**


	20. Chapter's 37, 38, & 39

**AN: Hey guys! Nice and short up here. I own nothing. . . .only the background plot. see you at the bottom!**

We flew for at least 45 minutes, just freewheeling in the air, enjoying the air. Total was mad at me, cause I sent him down after only 10. But he wasn't flying as well so I told him to rest. We were back with snacks (fresh made from Iggy, might I add) laid out in the living room when Mom and Ella came back. Once all the groceries were put away and we were settled back down it was only 10:45. We all felt so much better after our flight, so Nudge picked up the book and started to read.

**Chapter 37**

**The bell clanged jarringly, **Everyone groaned. **and rough hands pushed Angel forward. She stumbled, catching herself at the last second before falling onto coils of razor wire. **Angel shivered, remembering her first hand experience and hearing repeated back to her was worse. She curled into Gazzy's arms and he embraced her warmly.

** Angel wanted to cry. She'd been doing this all day – it was late afternoon by now.**

** She was starving and light-headed and every muscle ached – and still they made her run. **"Of course they did," Iggy muttered. "They're the very meaning of vile."

** It was a maze, Angel knew that. **

** They had made it in a huge gymlike room in the School's main building. They rang a bell and pushed her forward, and then she had to run as fast as she could to find the exit. Each time, the maze was different, the exit in a different place. If she slowed down, she got an electric shock so strong it scrambled her brain, or red-hot wires under her feet burned her. So, eyes blurry with tears, Angel ran forward blindly, taking this turn and that until she finally stumbled out the exit. Then she would get a sip of water and a five-minute rest while they redid the maze. **No one said a word. All trying to just get through this chapter without much interruption.

** Angel sniffled, trying to keep quiet. She hated this! If only she knew beforehand – if only she **_**knew,**_** she could run through fast and not get shocked or burned. **"And now the mind reader remembers she can read minds," Iggy said again, the only one able to really speak.

** Angel sat up, a tingle of excitement running down her spine. She closed her eyes and tried to listen to what the whitecoats were thinking.**

** One of them wanted to let an Eraser loose in the maze, have it fight with her, see how strong she really was. One of them thought they should increase the heated wires so she always had to run on them, whether she was slowing down or not. Then he could study the effect of stress on her adrenaline levels.**

** Angel wanted them all to burn in h-e-double toothpicks forever.**

**One of them as designing the next maze, the creep. **Mom perked up a smidgeon. "Wait, He's designing the maze?" she asked, and Nudge nodded. "You have a chance!" Ella was looking better too. Everyone had perked up a bit at that.

** Angel concentrated, trying to look as though she was resting. Someone gave her another sip of water, and she sucked it down fast. She could see the rough plan of the maze! It was in her mind because it was in the whitecoat's mind. Deliberately, Angel breathed in and out, looking spent, but she felt a new spurge of possibility. **

** She got it. She knew what the next maze would look like. Blinking tiredly, Angel sat up, keeping her eyes unfocused. In her mind, she was reviewing the maze's layout: a quick right, then another right, then a left, skip the next three rights and take the fourth one. . .and so on, till she saw the exit.**

** She could see all the traps, the dead ends, the paths that led nowhere.**

** She could hardly wait to blow their minds. This would be fun! **"I can see that being fun." I said, receiving many insane glances. "What? Admit it. It's fun watching their faces when we complete the test in record time." This time the flock just shrugged and somewhat nodded, but mom and El remained adamant. "How could that _possibly_ be fun?" Ella asked. I shrugged and Nudge continued to read.

** A whitecoat grabbed her, made her stand in front of the new maze's entrance.**

** The bell clanged.**

** Someone pushed her.**

** Angel took off. Running as fast as she could in case all the wires were hot, she took a quick right, another right, then a left, and so on. She raced through with record speed, with no hesitation. She didn't get shocked once and never felt a hot wire under her feet. **"Good." I said and she smiled weakly. Knowing that it was almost over.

** She burst out of the maze's exit, then collapsed onto the cool wooden floor.**

** Time passed.**

** Words floated to her: **_**Amazing. Cognitive ability. Interpretive skills. Creative problem solving. Dissect her brain. Preserve her organs. Extract her DNA. **_Everyone shivered here.

**A voice said, "No, no, we can't dissect her brain just yet." The speaker laughed, as if it were funny.** "Who would think that funny?" Mom asked. She's not gonna like this very much.I looked at Fang and his eyes showed me he thought the same thing. **His voice sounded. . .like she'd heard it in a fairy tale or something, like at night, or at home, or with Max. . . . **"It was all of those things." Angel said, and I felt my jaw harden.

** Angel blinked and swam toward consciousness. She made the mistake of looking up. An older man was there. He wore wire-rimmed glasses and was smiling at her. She got no thoughts from him whatsoever. **"That's strange." Mom said. **He looked . . .**

** "Hello, Angel," said Jeb **Mom gasped, groaned and sighed all at one time. **Batchelder kindly. "I haven't seen you in a long time. I missed you, kiddo." ** Nudge passed the book to Gazzy and reached for another homemade rice crispy treat Iggy had made.

**Chapter 38**

**Nudge **"Here we go." Nudge said, having a feeling about what was going to happen. We had finally discussed what happened during one night at Anne's. No one but Me, Nudge, Fang and Angel knew. So this ought to be interesting. **didn't know exactly what Fang expected to see. Max, flying toward them? Max, standing on the ground below, waving her arms to get their attention? Max's body, **Every one winced. Not a cool mental picture. **crumpled – Nudge shot that thought down. She would just wait. Fang was older and really smart; Max trusted him. Nudge trusted him too. **"Good," Fang said. "I was getting worried there." She stuck his tongue out at him.

** How far back had Max separated from them? Nudge couldn't remember. She and Fang had been flying in everwidening circles for hours. How did they know Max hadn't passed them somehow and was waiting for them back at Lake Mead?**

** "Fang? Do you remember where we left Max?" **"Yes." I said, "at least, He should."

** "Yes." **"See." Nudge stuck her tongue out at me and Fang smacked my head.

** "Are we going to go there?" **"No."

** Pause. "Not if we can help it." **"Ha!" Fang smacked my head again, and said, "No more sugar for you." Causing me to pout and everyone else to laugh.

** "But why? Maybe Max is hurt and needs help. **"She's already gotten all the help she needs.**Maybe we need to save her before we go save Angel." It was hard, keeping these missions separate. First Angel, now Max, then Angel again.**

** Fang banked to the left, tightening the angle as they'd seen the hawks do. Nudge followed him. Below them, the ground looked parched, with only occasional roads, cactuses, brush.**

** "I don't think Max would have gotten hurt all by herself," Fang said slowly. "She's not going to fly into a tree or crash-land. **Everyone in the room laughed, Total too. "That would've been great!" Iggy said. "I would've loved to have seen Max fly into a try." Gazzy chimed in. Mom tried to stifle her giggles. **So if she's late because she's hurt, it probably means that someone, a person, hurt her. Which means that someone knows about her. We don't want that someone to know about us too. Which they would if we went to where Max is."**

** Nudge's jaw dropped.**

** "And if Max is late because she's busy, then our going to her won't speed things up – she'll come when she's good and ready. So for right now, we do a general look-see. But we're not going all the way back."**

** Nudge heard Max's voice **"Awe, You heard me." I said, smiling. She beamed up at me. **in her head: **_**Think before you speak.**_** So she shut her mouth and thought. She had no idea how Fang could **_**not**_** get Max, even if it meant they might get captured or hurt themselves. They **_**all**_** might get captured or hurt saving Angel, right? Why was Max different from Angel? Max was more important than Angel, Nudge thought, feeling guilty. Max took care of them, helped run their whole lives.**

** She snuck a look at Fang. Fang was good, if not very warm or huggy. He was strong and handsome and capable. But would he stick around to take care of everyone if there were no Max?** "Okay, I'm hurt." He said. "Did you really think I would just abandon you all?" . . . "Well?" Nudge still hadn't answered. "I don't think that anymore." She started. "You've shown that numerous times now. That you wouldn't just fly off on your own. Though that one time with Ari, but that was a fluke and we knew it wouldn't last long." "NUDGE." Iggy said. "Shut it, just read for us Gazzers? Please?" Gazzy laughed then started to read again. **Or would he take off and go live by himself somewhere and not be bothered with them? Nudge didn't know what Fang was really thinking. **"See," Nudge said. "I'm not like Max. I can't read your thoughts just by one look." I felt my jaw drop. . ._They could see that?_ I thought to myself. Everyone started laughing.

** Suddenly, Nudge was brushing tears out of her eyes, **"And down we go." Nudge whispered. **swallowing down the lump in her throat, feeling her nose clog up. Oh, God. She couldn't bear it without Max. **"Awe," Mom said. "You don't have to live without her though." She said.** Blinking, she tried to clear her vision, tried to think about something else. She saw a white truck down below and focused on it, forcing herself to wonder what it was carrying, where it was coming from. **"Get your mind back on the mission. Good." I said. **Like any of it mattered.**

** She drew in deep breaths and held them, refusing to cry in front of Fang. She might have to start being very strong, very soon. She might as well practice now. **"You shouldn't have to worry about that." Mom said. "Yeah." Ella agreed. "Well," I started. "We _shouldn't_ have grown up having to worry about that. But we did. And now there's nothing to do but worry about tomorrow." I said and motioned for Gazzy to keep going.

** The truck headed toward an intersection that had signs marking a junction. Nudge blinked and looked as the signs became clear and she could read them. One said, California Welcome Center, 18 miles. One said, Las Vegas, North, 98 miles. One said, Tipisco **"Oh, I get it." Ella said. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Mom said. "No, I wasn't sure. All I knew was that if Max were gone, I was gonna need someone to be there for me. And I wasn't sure about Fang, I didn't know when I'd ever see the boys again. I couldn't think about Angel. So I just needed someone to be there. But this wasn't – " "Gaz, Just read." Iggy said, with his hand covering Nudge's mouth. **3 miles.**

** Tipisco! Tipisco, Arizona! Where Nudge was from! Where her parents had been! Oh, God – could she still find her parents? Would they want her back? Had they missed her so much all these years?**

** "Fang!" she shouted, already beginning the descent. "It's Tipisco , down below! I'm going there!" **"I'm not so sure you should." Mom said, starting to get worried.

** "No way, Nudge," Fang said, flying closer to her. "Don't get sidetracked now. Stay with me." **"Yeah, listen to Fang." Ella said, her lips curved downward.

** "No!" said Nudge, feeling daring and desperate and brave. She hunched her shoulders and tucked her head down, feeling herself lose altitude. "I have to go find my parents! If Max is gone,** "Which, I'm not." I said. "You should know I would never leave you." Nudge smiled at me. "Of course you wouldn't, not on purpose." She said. "But if you had died . . ." she trailed off.** I'm going to need someone."**

** Fang's dark eyes widened in surprise. "What? Nudge, you're crazy. Come on, let's talk about it. Let's find a place, take a break."**

** "No!" said Nudge, tears coming to her eyes again. "I'm going down – and you can't stop me!" **"This can't be good." Mom muttered. "How can you tell?" Iggy asked. "Well," she said, "Nudge really should be listening to Fang. You found those files back at the house in Colorado. . .The Erasers could know that and be waiting to ambush you." "Wow." Nudge said. "I should have thought of that." "Would that really have stopped you though?" Fang asked. Nudge thought for a minute. "Probably not."

Angel took the book from her brother and started the next chapter.

**Chapter 39 **

"**We're pretty safe, unless the Erasers catch our scent," the Gasman whispered **"Yeah, back to us!" Iggy said, hi-fiving the Gasman. **to Iggy. The two of them were tucked inside a narrow fissure in the side of a cliff, up high. Scraggly bushes obscured the opening. The Erasers would have to rock climb to get them, or use the chopper. **Mom groaned, but otherwise stayed silent.

** Iggy kicked back and rested his hands on his knees. "Well, this is a total suckfest," he said grumpily. "I thought with those two Erasers taking dirt naps, we'd be free and clear, at least for a while. They must have sent for backup even before they attacked the cabin." **"Yeah, probably." I said.

** The Gasman ground dust between his fingertips. "At least we took two of them out." He wondered if Iggy felt as weird and bad about it as he did. **"Yeah, kind of. It wasn't like I loved the feeling of watching them burn," Iggy said. I nodded my head, remembered he couldn't see it and said, "Yeah, I understand." **He couldn't tell.**

** "Yeah, but what now? We're kinda all dressed up with no place to go," **"I haven't heard that one before!" Ella said. "Really? What else is there?" Iggy wondered. "Up a creek without a paddle is my favorite." **Iggy said. "There's no way we can go home – they're probably everywhere. What are we supposed to do with ourselves? And what if Max and the others come back just to fly into an ambush?" **"I wouldn't go back, not after all this." I said. "You know I've never even gone near that place since this all began for that reason."

** "I don't know," the Gasman said in frustration. "I hadn't thought beyond just blowing them the heck up. **"ah, the mind of an 8 year old." I said, smiling. "I know, isn't it great?" Mom asked.** Maybe **_**you**_** should come up with a plan."**

** The two boys sat in the semidarkness of the fissure, breathing the stale air. The Gasman's stomach rumbled. **I chuckled with Ella and Mom. "What?" Gazzy asked. "You know how hungry we get!" "I know, Gazzy, I know." I told him.

** "Tell me about it," Iggy said, resting his head on his knees. **"I'm sorry guys." I started, but wasn't able to finish. Stupid Mind reader. _I know, _Angel thought to me. _You don't mean it._ I smiled at her.

** "Okay, okay," the Gasman said suddenly. "I have an idea. It's risky, and Max will kill us when she finds out." **"I hate those plans." I said. Mom's face looked worried. Ella looked confused. Nudge was smiling and Fang was smirking. Iggy had one of those weird half-smile, half-grimace faces on.

** Iggy raised his head. "Sounds like my kind of idea."**

Angel passed the book to Ella, got up and grabbed a cookie. "What's the plan?" Ella asked.

"Well," Iggy started, "It's not that hard to guess." She sighed.

"You guys aren't gonna tell me, are you?" She asked. "Okay, I guess."

"Ella," I said. "You know, the sooner you read, the sooner you know the plan." She started to read without another word.

**A/N:**

**Greetings faithful viewers!**

**Okay, so here begins my new crazy Junior year school year. And with that being so busy, it means that my nice fast updates from the summer are going back down to not as often. . . I'll try _Really_ hard to update once every week, but it'll most likely end up being once every 2 or three. . . .but here's this one!**

**Anyway, I need feedback! Did you: Like it _ love it _ hate it _ were the comments good? bad? completely out of character?**

**I would also like to remind you that this is ONE YEAR after MAX. So Angel's 8, Gazzy's 10, Nudge's 13, Max 16, Fang 16, and Iggy almost 16. **

**Thanks guys!**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	21. Chapter's 40, 41, & 42

**AN: I would like to dedicate this chapter to Call Me Bitter. I hope I met your expectations. . . and remember: **_**whatever happens, KEEP READING! **_**^_^ see you at the bottom!**

**Chapter 40 **Ella read.

**Never in my **"argh," she said, interrupting herself, causing us to laugh.** fourteen looong years have I felt the slightest bit normal – except for my day with Ella and her mom, Dr. Martinez. **"Glad we could help you feel normal." Mom said.

** First, we ate a real breakfast together, around the kitchen table. On plates, with forks and knives and napkins. **"Wow," Iggy said. "That is nice."** Instead of, like, a hotdog stuck on a barbecue fork, **"For breakfast?" Ella asked. Nudge nodded, then shivered, remembering how nasty they were.** burned black over an open flame, then eaten right off the fork. **"um, ew." Ella said. "Well you try not eating anything but cereal for days and when you need so much more." I said and she started reading again.** Or cereal with no milk. Or peanut butter off a knife. Beanie weenies from the can. **

** Then Ella had to go to school.** "Aren't those jerks still out there?" Nudge asked. Ella shook her head in dismissal. "They weren't any trouble to me after Max showed up." ** I was worried about the jerks from before, but she said her teacher was good at keeping kids in line,** "Yeah, Mrs. Morthew (More tho) is really good about that."** and so was the school bus driver. A real school bus! **"You get really excited over the simplest of things." Mom said, Ella was giggling.** Like on TV shows. **"Yup. Sounds like Max." Iggy said, and I smacked him upside the head.

** So it was me and Dr. Martinez. "So, Max," she said as she unloaded the dishwasher.**

** I tensed. **

** "Do you want to talk about . . . anything?" **"nope, never." Fang said.

** I looked at her. Her face was tan and kind, her eyes warm and understanding. **"Yep," Ella said, "You got mom down to a tee." Mom blushed and smiled at me. **But I knew if I started talking, I would never stop. **"Cause Max is _totally _the chatterbox in the Flock." I heard Fang say. . . from the wrong direction. Everyone was laughing, and it was obvious what had happened. I let it slide just this one time. It was too funny. **I would break down and start crying. I would freak out. Then I wouldn't be Max anymore, wouldn't be able to function, take care of the others, be the alpha girl. To save Angel. If it wasn't already too late. **"You have _got_ to stop thinking that way." Nudge said.

** "Not really," I said.**

** She nodded and started stacking clean plates. I fantasized about actually being friends with Ella and her mom long after I left here and went home.** "Definitely a fantasy." I muttered, and hey, it was mostly true.** I could come back and visit sometimes. . . . Yeah, and we could have picnics, exchange Christmas cards. . . . I'm so **_**sure.**_"Wow, Max" Fang said. The REAL Fang this time. "I didn't know you could see the future." I stuck my finger in his ribs and he stuck his tongue out at me. **I was totally losing my grip on reality. I had to get out of here. **Ella sighed, knowing that I would leave soon, in the book at least.

** Dr. Martinez put away the clean plates and loaded the dirty ones into the dishwasher. "Do you have a last name?" **

** I thought. Since I didn't have an "official" identity, there wasn't anything she could do with the information. I rubbed my temples – a headache had been creeping up on me since breakfast. **"Do you think this is where your headaches started?" Nudge asked. "I don't know. . ." I said. "I mean, it might be. And now that I think about it. . . They only escalated from here on out." "What headaches?" Mom and Ella asked simultaneously. "You'll find out later. . ." I said, shuddering at the memory of the pain.

** "Yeah," I said finally. I shrugged. "I gave it to myself."**

** On my eleventh birthday (which was also a day I picked for myself), I had asked Jeb about a last name. I guess I was hoping he would say, "your name is Batchelder, like me." **"Which, technically, it is." Total said. "Thank you for that." I said, feeling the air turning colder around my mouth. **But he hadn't. He'd said, "You should choose one yourself."**

** So I'd thought about it, thought about how I could fly and who I was.**

** "My last name is Ride," I told Ella's mom. "Like Sally Ride, the astronaut. Maximum Ride." **"Ahem." Came from most of the flock. "You forgot something." Oh, great. I placed my head in my hands while they went over this yet again. Mom was looking kind of confused, as was ella. "Wah?" She said. "Maximum," Iggy said. "Charging Off," Fang said. "Ride." Nudge ended. Causing a great spurt of laughter. "Just read El, before I kill them." I said.

** She nodded. "That's a good name. Are there others like you?" she asked.**

** I pressed my lips together and looked away. My head was throbbing. I **_**wanted**_** to tell her – that was the awful part. Something inside me wanted to blurt out everything. But I couldn't not after years of Jeb telling me I couldn't trust anybody, ever. **Again, mom's eyes were torn between sadness and pride. Proud I wouldn't just trust somebody off the street and sad that I even had to be.

** "Do you need help?"**

** My eyes flicked back to her face.**

** "Max – with your wings – can you actually fly?" **Quite a few of us laughed.

** "Well, **_**yeah**_**," I was startled into saying. That's me: mouth-like-a-steel-trap Maximum. **"Ha!" Iggy said. After seeing him cringe away from where my hand _should_ have gone to whack his head, I whacked his knee. "Didn't see that one coming did ya?" I asked him. **Yep, you have to use all your tricks to get **_**me**_** to talk. Jeez. That's what I get for sleeping on a soft bed and eating homey food.**

** "Really? You can really fly?" **"What?" Mom asked sheepishly. "It was kind of hard even imagine someone ever being able to fly." **She looked fascinated, alarmed, and a little envious.**

** I nodded. "My bones are . . . thin," I began, hating myself. **_**Shut up, Max!**_ "And that would be my 'Fang' like conscience." I said, causing everyone to laugh, even Fang himself.** "Thin and light. I have extra muscles. My lungs are bigger. And my heart. More efficient. But I need to eat a lot. It's hard." **"Da-arn, Max." Iggy said. "When you spill, you spill BIG." He said. Nudge was nearly on edge of saying something, but Ig, had his hand over her mouth, Thank God. **Abruptly, I clammed up, a furious blush heating my cheeks. That, folks, was the most I had ever said to a non-flock member. But when I spill the beans, I spill big! I might as well have hired a skywriting plane to scrawl, "I'm a mutant freak!" in huge letters across the sky.**

** "How did this happen?" Ella's mom asked softly. **"She's not going to tell you." Fang said. "I know," Mom said. "But I was just hoping for more info on how this all happened. "You don't want to know." All six of us said together.

** My eyes shut of their own volition. If I'd been alone I would have put my hands over my ears and hunkered down into a little ball on the floor. Fractured images, memories, fear, pain, all came crashing together inside my brain. You think being a regular teenager with growing pains is hard? Try doing it with DNA that's not your won, not even from a **_**mammal. **_

** "I don't remember," I told her. It was a lie. **"You lied to MOM!" Ella said, her jaw dropping slowly.

"Well, Yeah," I told her. "I didn't want to talk about it then, and I still don't like talking about it." "But still!" She just wouldn't let it go. "You _lied_ to _mom_." "I didn't know then." "But, bu –" "Just let it go, Ella, honey." Mom butted in, and took the book from El's hands.

"Thank you, mom." I said.

**Chapter 41**

**Dr. Martinez looked distressed. **"again, a familiar expression on mom's face." Ella said with a giggle. **"Max, are you sure I can't help in some way?" **

**I shook my head, irritated at myself, irritated at her for bringing all this up. "Nah. It's all over, anyway. Done. But – I have to get out of here. Some friends are waiting for me. It's really important."**

"**How will you get to them? Can I give you a ride?" **"You know that she can fly, yet you offer her a ride?" Ella said. Mom shrugged, "What? I was just hoping to have a little more time with her." "oooh." Ella said, nodding. "That definitely makes sense."

"**No," I said, frowning and rubbing my hurt shoulder. "I need to, um, fly there. But I don't think I can fly yet." **

**Dr. Martinez creased her forehead, thinking. "It would be dangerous for you to strain your injury before it's healed. I couldn't tell the extent of it. But I could give you a better idea if we had an X-ray."**

**I looked at her solemnly. "Do you have X-ray vision?" **Okay, I'll admit it, it was a stupid question. I laughed along as but not as loud as everyone else in the room. Fang looked at me, "Did you, really, just ask that question?" "So what if I did?" I asked. "That was two years ago." He shook his head and I placed my mine on his shoulder.

**She laughed, startled, and I couldn't help grinning too. God, Ella had this **_**all the time. **_**A real mom.** "I was really jealous of you," I told Ella. "You had the best thing in the world and I was stuck playing 'leader.'" Iggy melted, "Ouch, Max. That really hurt." I smacked his head, laughing as he pulled his legs in closer to him.

"**No. Not all of us have superhuman powers," she said teasingly. "But some of us have access to X-ray machines." **"Ick." Nudge said. "Doctors." . . . "No offense Dr. M." She said fast, thinking about what she just said, causing Ella, Angel and me to laugh.

**Dr. Martinez shared a vet practice with another doctor. Today was her day off, but she was sure no one would think it was weird for us to show up at the office. She gave me a windbreaker to wear, **"Thanks for that, by the way." I told mom who smiled. **but I was still pretty freaked about seeing other people up close. **Iggy snickered. "You were too, if I recall." Fang said.

"**Hi, guys," Dr. Martinez said as we walked into the office. "This is a friend of Ella's. She's doing a report on being a vet, and I told her I'd give her a quick tour." **"That's a great cover story Dr. M!" Angel said. "Thank you sweetie." Mom told her.

**The three people behind the counter smiled and nodded as if this was totally believable. Maybe it was. How would I know? **Fang chuckled. "Yeah," Iggy said. "Cause everyone is out to get you. . .wait. . . never mind." I laughed.

**Two seconds after I walked in, I froze in the doorway, feeling the blood rush out of my face and a wash of terror sweep over me. **"What happened?" Nudge said, tensing beside Iggy. "Nothing of consequent." I told her.

**There was a man there.**

_**In a white coat. **_"Ooooooh." Nudge said, relief showing clearly on her face. Iggy chuckled, "Shoulda known."

**Dr. Martinez glanced back. "Max?"**

**I stared at her mutely. She gently took my arm and led me off into an exam room. "Yes, in here is where we see our patients," she said cheerfully **"You are really good at keeping up with the façade." Nudge said. Mom shrugged. **as she shut the door behind us. Then she turned and lowered her voice. "Max, what's wrong? What's the matter?" **"Just the usual, when we step into a doctor's office that is." Iggy said.

**I forced myself to take several slow, deep breaths, to uncoil the fists at my sides. "It's the smell," I whispered, embarrassed. **"You don't need to be embarrassed, Max." Ella said. "I feel that way sometimes too." "Yeah, but let me guess," I said, "That started once you knew my story." I smirked as she sheepishly smiled and said, "Maybe." **"The chemical smell, like a lab. The guy in the white coat. I have to get out of her, okay? Can we just go now, really fast?" I looked for an exit, a window. **"You need this though, Max." Fang said. "Yeah, I know, that's why I didn't run." I answered him.

** Her hand rubbed my back. "I can promise that you're safe here. Can you stay just long enough for me to get a quick X-ray, and then we'll leave right away?" **"You really were the best person for me to run into." I told her. Everyone in the flock nodded their head in agreement.

** I tried to swallow, but my mouth was dry. My heart was pounding so hard it made a rushing sound in my ears.**

** "Please, Max."**

** I forced myself to nod. Dr. Martinez checked to make sure I wasn't wearing jewelry – as if- **"Not now though." Ella said smugly. Nudge grinned too. I nodded and fingered my necklace. Fang had gotten (with the help of Mom and Ella) it. It has a heart with wings on it, on each of the wings were the names of my family members, those closest to me. I never left my room without it. **then carefully positioned me on a table. A machine hovered over me. I felt like my nerves were about to snap. **"Your nerves are always about to snap." Gazzy muttered, and Angel giggled. I pouted and Fang poked me in the ribs.

** She stepped out of the room, I heard a tiny **_**buzz**_**, and it was all over. **"It was a lot faster than I thought it would be," I said. Mom nodded, "They are pretty fast."

** Two minutes later she showed me a large dark sheet with my shoulder bones, arm and part of my wing showing in shades of white. She stuck it up on a glass box on the wall and turned on its light. The picture jumped out brightly.**

** "Look," she said, tracing my shoulder blade with her finger. This bone is fine. It's all muscle damage **"Awe, darn." Iggy said. "Muscle damage takes longer to heal." Mom giggled, I smirked and said, "Thank you Dr. Birdbrain." **– you can see the torn tissue here and here."**

** I nodded.**

** "And your wing bones," she said, unconsciously lowering her voice, "all seems fine. Which is good. Unfortunately, muscle damage usually takes longer to heal than bones do. **"Told you." Iggy muttered and I whacked his head again. **Though your rate of regeneration seems weirdly fast, **"The first time I had to deal with it." Mom said, shaking her head. **I must say."**

** She frowned at the X-ray, tapping it with her finger. "Your bones are so fine and light," she murmured, as if talking to herself. "They're beautiful. And then . . . huh. What's this thing?" **"Huh?" Total said. "is that the –" I cut him off – motioning to mom to keep reading – not bothering to let him finish his probably right question.

** She was pointing to a bright white square, maybe half an inch wide, that sat smack-dab in the middle of my forearm. "That's not jewlry, is it?" She glanced down at me. "Is it the zipper of the windbreaker?" **"Erm, I don't think that's it." Total said, his eyes betraying his thoughts, _This is where the beach scene came in._ I shook off the thought as mom read again.

** "No – I took it off." **Fang shivered beside me, remembering the scene all too well.

** Dr. Martinez leaned closer to the picture, squinting her eyes. "It's a – it looks like a . . ." Her voice trailed off.**

** "What?" I said, unnerved by the expression on her face.**

** "It's a microchip," **"I knew it." Total said, shaking his head, ruffling his fur. Angel smoothed it down softly, I think it soothed her as much as it soothed him. _Yeah,_ Angel told me._ It helps a lot. _I smiled at her. **she said hesitantly. "We put something similar into animals. To identify them in case they're lost. Yours looks like a, like once we use on really expensive pets, show dogs and such. They have a tracer in them in case they're stolen. They can be tracked, wherever they are." "**And here is where Max tenses up and wants to rip her arm off to get the stupid chip out." Iggy said. Nudge shook her head beside Angel. "No, that's not yet." Nudge started but Angel cut in, saving all of our ears.

"It's not time yet Iggy," She said in her cute 'innocent' voice. "Remember, we were on the way to Florida when she had her breakdown." Iggy nodded grimly, and then Smiled. I guess Angel sent him a thought worth remembering or something. I took the book from mom, grabbed another cookie and silently _thanked_ Angel for that pleasant reminder. Fang, feeling me tense up like only Fang can do, started rubbing my back and some of my feathers.

I started to read so we could get on with it.

**Chapter 42**

**The look of comprehending horror that rose in my face alarmed Dr. Martinez.** "You're look of comprehending horror alarms all of us." Fang whispered. Nudge said it louder for everyone to hear.

** "I'm not saying that's what it is," she said quickly. "It's just what it looks like." **"Oh, that's definitely what it is." Total said.

** "Take it out," I said hoarsely. I held out my arm and pushed up my sleeve. "Please. Take it out right now." **"I'm glad you didn't take it out then." I said. If that had happened, I might not have ever regained the use in my arm. Fang nodded.

** She looked at the X-ray again, studying it for several minutes while I tried not to jump out of my skin. **Ella laughed, along with Angel, Nudge and Gazzy, Iggy chuckled. They were probably picturing me actually trying to jump out of my skin. I narrowed my eyes and kept reading.

** "I'm sorry, Max," she said at last. "I don't think it can be surgically removed. It looks like it was implanted a long time ago, when your arm was much smaller. Now your muscles and nerves, blood vessels, have grown around it so completely that I think if we tried to take it out, you could possibly lose the use of your hand. **"Oh, how right you were." I muttered.

** You'd think I'd get used to the ongoing nightmare that was my life, but I was actually pathetically surprised that those demonoids **"Demonoids," Ella said, "that's a new one." Iggy nodded too. **from the School could continue to wreak havoc on me from so far away, so long ago.**

** But why was I surprised?** "Yeah," Nudge asked. "Why were you surprised? They already brought trouble back to us when they took Angel." I smirked and read the next line.** I asked myself bitterly. They had done just that two days ago, when they'd kidnapped ****a****ngel. An image of her popped into my mind, her sweet, small face smiling up at me, love shining out. **The Angel in the room beamed up at me, showing the exact picture of what I had seen in my head that day. **I swallowed hard and took a deep breath.**

** Right then, we became aware of voices **"Oh snap." Iggy said, "Get out of there." Ella was worried, she didn't know this part. **in the waiting room, men's voices, smooth and charming,** "They came to your office?" Nudge asked, worried. Ella couldn't speak.** asking questions.**

** I froze again, doing my deer-in-the-headlights imitation. **"You seem to be doing that a lot in this book." Gazzy muttered trying to lighten up the atmosphere by just a hair.

** Dr. Martinez looked at me and listened to the voices. "I'm sure this is nothing, Max," she said calmly. "But why don't you step in here for a minute?" **

** In the hall was a small door that led to their medicine storage closet. Several long white coats hung inside, and I slid in behind them, flattening myself against the wall. **Chuckles made their way throughout the room, Fang actually smiled. "You hid behind the whitecoats!" Nudge said, smiling. Angel was trying not to laugh, but it wasn't working very well.

** And yes, I get the irony, thanks.**

** Dr. Martinez turned off the light and closed the door. Barely twenty seconds later, I heard the voices in the examining room where I had been. **"You went face to face with them…" Iggy said.

** "What's going on here?" Dr. Martinez said sharply, sounding outraged. **"And here's where Max got her temper from." Iggy said, and I smacked him on the leg again. **"This is a doctor's office!"  
"Sorry, ma'am," one voice said, sounding as if it were made of honey. My heart began to pound.**

** "**_**Doctor!**_**" she snapped. **"My, God," Fang said. "You're practically immune to their charm." Mom smiled.

** "Sorry, Doctor," another voice said. It was soothing, calming, placating. "Forgive us for interrupting. There's nothing to be concerned about. We're with local law enforcement." **I scoffed. "Yeah, right." Nudge said.

** "We're looking for anything unusual," said the first voice. "Just a precaution. I'm afraid I can't tell you more than that." Implying that it was all top-secret government stuff. Maybe I was. **"Not really _government_ stuff," I said.

** There was a pause. Was Dr. Martinez being drawn in by their voices? She wouldn't be the first one. Oh, God . . . **

** I suddenly remembered my X-ray up on the light box, and I clapped my hand over my mouth. My stomach tightened. In the next minute I could be fighting for my life. It was too dark to look for possible weapons. **_**Think, think**_** . . . **

** "Unusual like what?" Dr. Martinez said acidly.** "Go Dr. M!" The flock said in unison. Well, me and Ella said "Go Mom!" But you get the picture.** "A double rainbow? Gasoline for less than a buck fifty? Sugar free soda that actually tastes good?" **Everyone laughed. Mom sure did know how to get around their questions.

** I couldn't help grinning. She was just so great. And she seemed immune to Erasers, which was really weird. **"Not weird," Mom said. "The fact that you were so terrified at the sound of their voice made me furious that anyone would such things to children."

** "No," said the second voice after a moment. "Unusual **_**people**_**, for instance. Strangers in the neighborhood. Children or teenagers that you don't know or who look suspicious. Or unusual animals, even." **"Basically," Iggy said. "All he's trying to figure out is if you've seen kids with wings in the area."

** "I'm a veterinary surgeon," said Dr. Martinez in a chilling voice. "To tell you the truth, I usually don't look at my patients' owners much. And I haven't seen any strangers around. As for unusual **_**animals,**_** last week I treated a cow that had a bicornuate uterus. She had a healthy calf in each side. **"Wow." Everyone said. **Does that help?" **My mom was now the flock's greatest hero. I smiled.

** Silence. I would hate to be on the receiving end of her anger. **"Tell me about it." Ella said.

** "Um . . ." said the first voice.**

** "If you gentlemen will excuse me, I have a business to run." Icicles dripped off her words. "The way out is through that door." **"You're the bomb!" Angel said. "Like _tick-tick!_" Gazzy and Iggy said in unison. Causing all of us to laugh.

** "If you do see or hear of anything unusual, here's a number for you to call. Thanks for your time. Sorry to disturb you." **"Yeah right." Iggy said.

** Heavy footsteps faded from my hearing. A minute later I felt the front door slam shut.**

** "If you see those two guys again, call the cops," Dr. Martinez said to the receptionist.**

** She came and let me out of the closet, looking at my face solemnly.**

** "Those guys were bad news," she said, "am I right?" **"Most definitely." Nudge said.

** I nodded. "I better leave right now."**

** She shook her head. "Tomorrow morning is soon enough. One more night of rest. Promise me."**

** I opened my mouth to argue, **"Let me guess." Total said. "You say yes anyway." I glared at him and he stared at his paws.** but what came out was "Okay. I promise." **_"Ha!_ I knew it!" He said.

"Wait," I said as Fang reached out to take the book. "What's this?" I was staring at the page I had just finished reading and where had been blank paper, now read some other chapter.

"Chapter 71?" I asked. Mom cocked her head to the side.

"But I thought we just read Chapter 42. . .?" Nudge asked.

Angel smiled. _I know what it is!_ She said in my head. I frowned. What is it Angel?

_It's from the 5__th__ book: MAX. I don't know why it's there, but I think we should read it now!_

Let me ask Fang about it okay? _Fine,_ I heard her mentally sigh._ Here!_ She perked up then I heard her 'presence' in my head vanish.

_Huh?_ _What the –_ Fang! I cut him off. _Max?_ Okay, yeah, it's me. What do you think? Read, or skip? Read, or skip?

_Max, I – um, I don't know. God, this is weird. Um, Angel can you take this down now? _

I don't know Fang, I kind of like it.  I laughed. This was fun.

"Angel, could you please stop it now?" I asked, nicely. She giggled and nodded. I felt fang's relief and my own. I stared at him, and he shrugged his shoulders, I cocked my head to one side, he gave a sideways nod. (Yes that is possible. And No it's not a shake) My family watched (minus Iggy but you should know that by now) the interaction between me and Fang. This went on for a minute until Nudge finally couldn't stand it. "Max! Fang! Come on! Just read! _PLEASE?"_ Angel joined her on the 'please' with bambi eyes included.

"No," I said. "I'm gonna wait Till we get to that book." I was drowned out by Ella, Nudge, Angel and surprisingly, Gazzy saying "Awe Come on!"

"Look," Fang started, "We're gonna get to that book later on. It won't make any sense in light of the current situation." Mom nodded and Ella's jaw dropped. "B-but," She said. "But nothing," Fang continued. "This chapter comes from much later on. . . Apparently it's the 5th book. What book are we on right now?" He asked and Ella murmured, "the first." "Exactly. We won't understand it at all."

Mom got up clapped her hands together and said, "Well, I've got to go to work, I didn't know it had gotten this late. Iggy? Help with lunch, okay?" Iggy nodded.

"Well," Total said, standing shakily. "This has been fun, but I'm going to go take a nap." I looked at mom, and her eyes were worried. "Total?" She said. "Why don't you come with me?" I nodded, I was worried about him. "I'll come, Angel?" Angel popped up, nodded and we were out the door in 5 minutes, with a snoring Total in my arms.

**A/N: Aren't I cruel : ) Sorry guys, It just wouldn't have worked that way. *sigh* I know, I know. **

**HOWEVER! I will let **_**you**_** see the Future chapter. KEEP IN MIND that it might change by the time I get to that book. So without further adieu I am pleased to present unto you the special future chapter.**

**Chapter 71 (MAX: A maximum ride novel) **I took the book from Mom and started to read, the tension in the room was so thick you could slice it with a butter knife.

**I SLAMMED MY FIST against the pressure pad that opened the air-lock chamber. **"Max, Do you really have to do this?" Ella asked, voice thick with worry. "Ell, You sure you're not suffering from short term memory loss? You know who I'm going out there to save." I told her. And she nodded solemnly. Angel was looking smug, she was obviously not at all sorry about what she had done. Fang rubbed my back as I continued.** I knew Captain Perry and the others were right behind me, and if they wanted to get sucked out of the diver air lock along with me, that was their business. **"That would _not_ have been good." Mom said. I nodded, unlike us, they _were_ pretty crushable. **Ten seconds ago, one of those creatures had been speeding toward****Angel****. **"It was okay though." Angel muttered, and Total whimpered, remembering the fear he had had. **That image, seared into my brain, made me feel sick. I couldn't believe that after all we'd been through, everything we'd done, Angel had basically just****  
****committed suicide by sea monster. **"You really, have GOT to stop doing that to Max or she's gonna spontaneously combust." Ella said. Angel giggled, then calmed herself down. **The air-lock door opened, the interior of the chamber still wet from Angel's escape. Brigid **Yay for red-haired wonders. Angel snickered. **grabbed my arm. "Max — don't," **"Did she seriously tell you 'no'?" Mom asked, "She doesn't know you at all." I narrowed my eyes. "No," I said, "She doesn't." **she said. "You know you can't go up against them. The best thing would be for us to get out of here, fast, before they start attacking the whole sub. **"She really should have known that you couldn't just leave Angel like that." Fang said. **Remember what they did to the Minnesota? **Mom shuddered, Ella too. Hey, even I shuddered. **This one is so much smaller and more vulnerable." **Ella shivered. "Did she have to say that?" She asked.

**"I have to go get Angel," I snarled with my endearing bulldog tenacity. **

**"Max — you can't help her." Brigid sounded close to tears. **"Will you _shut __up_ already?" Ella said, "She just doesn't get it!"

**"I'm not leaving her," I said, standing threateningly over Brigid, several inches taller. **"Go Max!" Ella cheered. **"If it's too late, then I'm bringing back her body. **Ella and mom winced. ** Either way, I'm not leaving without her." I looked at Captain Perry, John, Brigid, and the rest of the flock. "So suck it up and get out of my way." **"One thing I've learned in the Flock," El said, "Is to never question Max when she uses that tone." Iggy laughed with Nudge and Gazzy, granted, it was a weak laugh but hey, it works. **John looked at me for a long moment, then nodded, and carefully stepped out of the air-lock chamber. He touched Captain Perry's arm, and, frowning, Captain Perry left **"Well John knows when to listen." Mom said, and I smiled at her. John Abate was one of the better adults that I knew. **too. "Brigid," said John. Tears rolling down her cheeks, she let go of my arm **"She was _crying_?" Ella asked. "I didn't think that witch had it in her." **and left the room, followed by a solemn, stiff-jawed flock. Except Fang.** "Oh, no." Fang said, seeing the wary look Ella, Mom and Total gave him. "I know better than to stand in the way of Max when her Family is in danger." I tapped his knee. I've trained him well.** I glared at him. "Go on. Try to stop me. I dare you." It was like the old days when we used to wrestle, each trying to get the better of the other. I was ready to take him down, my hands curled into fists. **"Exactly why I didn't try." Fang whispered so only Iggy and I could hear.** "I was just going to say be careful," **"Wait for it," Ella said, then was joined in by Nudge and Angel saying: "_AWEEEEE!"_ **Fang told me. He stepped closer and brushed some hair out of my eyes. "And — I've got your back." He motioned with his head toward the torpedo chamber. **I felt my blood rush to my cheeks as I read this part. **Oh, my God. It hit me like a tsunami then: how perfect he was for me, **"No way," Ella said. "She's actually admitting she loves you!" Angel and Nudge snickered. "Well it's about time." Iggy muttered. **how no one else would ever, could ever be so perfect for me, how he was everything I could possibly hope for, **"I've often wondered how you thought of me." Fang whispered so low, I wasn't sure I heard it. **as a friend, boyfriend — maybe even more. He was it for me. There would be no more looking. I really, really loved him, with a whole****new kind of love****I'd never felt before, something that made every****other kind of love****I'd ever felt just seem washed out and wimpy in comparison. **"Wow, Max." Mom said. "That's deep." "Just wait," Angel said as my cheeks deepened in color. "It gets better." **I loved him with every cell in my body, every thought in my head, every feather in my wings, every breath in my lungs. **I paused, feeling breathless. "What about air sacs?" Iggy asked as he chuckled. I blushed yet even deeper and continued to read. **And air sacs. Too bad I was going out to face almost certain death. Right there, in front of everyone, **"I remember this." Nudge said. "Max, you must be blushing really bad, cause the air is a lot warmer now." Iggy said, causing Angel and Gazzy and Ella to laugh. ** threw my arms around his neck and smashed my mouth against his. **Mom smiled. Iggy snickered. Nudge, Angel and Ella smiled. **He was startled for a second, then his strong arms wrapped around me so tightly I could hardly breathe. "ZOMG," I heard Nudge whisper, but still Fang and I****  
****kissed, slanting our heads this way and that to get closer.**"Ick." Gazzy muttered. "Young love." Total said.** I could have stood there and kissed him happily for the next millennium, but Angel **"back to the present." Gazzy muttered, relieved. **— or what was left of her — was still out there in the cold, dark ocean. Reluctantly, I ended the kiss, took a step back. Fang's obsidian eyes were glittering brightly, and his stoic face had a look of wonder on it. **"Well of course it did." Fang said. "It was the first time _you_ actually kissed _me._" "True," I said. **"Gotta go," I said quietly. A half smile quirked his mouth. "Yeah. Hurry back." I nodded, and he stepped out of the air-lock chamber, **"You let her go alone?" Ella asked, incredulous. "Well, someone had to look after these guys if anything had happened to Max." Fang replied. I nodded. He needed to stay there. **keeping his eyes fixed on me, memorizing me, **"as if you needed to." Nudge said. I stared at her. "What? It seemed like all he did was stare at you. Most of the time he would do that and then sometimes he would look around doing the 360 thing that you always do, bu–" Iggy clutched his ears and curled into a ball, "MY EARS!" He said, shutting her up so I could continue to read. **as he hit the switch that sealed the chamber. The doors hissed shut with a kind of finality, and I realized my heart was beating so hard it felt like it was going to start snapping ribs. **"That wouldn't be good." Ella frowned. "Ya Darn Straight!" Iggy said. ** I was scared. **"I'm sorry Max." Angel said, now realizing what this had done to me. "But you needed to come out there and this was the only way it would work." ** I was crazily, deeply, incredibly, joyously, terrifiedly **"I don't think that's actually a word." Mom said, smiling.** in love. I was on a death mission. **"You didn't die though." Ella said. **Before my head simply exploded from too much emotion, **Angel, Gazzy, Ella and surprisingly Iggy chuckled at that. **I hit the large button that pressurized the air lock enough for the doors to open to the ocean outside. **"here we go!" Iggy said. **I really, really hoped that I would prove to be somewhat uncrushable, like Angel did. **Angel shook her head and rolled her eyes. _Hadn't I proved that already?_ She thought to me. I just didn't think that would be like me Ange. She sighed. **The doors cracked open below me, and I saw the first dark glint of frigid water. Showtime, folks. **I set the book beside Fang and went into the kitchen for a cup of hot cocoa and a cookie. Fang surprisingly followed. He stood beside me for a second, rubbing my back and then embraced me in a special Fang hug.

"I love you," Fang said.

"I love you, too." I said back at the same time I heard the distinct click of a camera.

I turned to face the perpetrator and was about to say "burn it," when Fang surprised all of us by saying, "Keep it." You could hear the jaws drop.

**AN: Okay guys. . . that's it for now! Let me know how it was! I really need your input. . . especially on things like what I did in the special chapter. Love scenes aren't really my forte. . . I'm really sorry about the wait guys. But Junior year is getting pretty hard. and it's only my second week. I'll try to keep updating regularly, but you know how life is.**

**Hope you enjoyed it!**

**~Jezabel Raewin**


	22. Of Clean Windows and Sick Puppy Dogs

Disclaimer: I own nothing. . .well, actually, I own the entire plotline of this chapter. ^_^ woohoo for who? Me!

**Fang POV (Ooh goody!)**

"Make sure they eat, and don't let Ig and Gaz burn down the house." Max told me as she headed out the door. I nodded. I wouldn't let them burn it down. They wouldn't dare; not with me in charge. Max knew that and smiled as she walked out the door.

I clapped my hands together and Ig and the Gasman jumped. Nudge and Ella were looking at some fashion magazine and calmly looked up at me. "Now that I have your attention," I started. "Iggy, we need lunch, in case you haven't noticed." He nodded and smiled. Nudge jumped up. _Oh, God help me now_. I thought to myself

"Oh! Iggy! Could we have like some quesadillas? Or maybe some of your chicken noodle soup? Ooh ooh, You make the _best_ sandwi-"

"Thank you Ella." I said and she smiled. "Iggy will make what he wants to make, and Ella, would you mind helping?"

"Sure, no problem!" She said and started over to the counter beside Iggy. I nodded to her and tapped my foot once on the ground. Iggy nodded and went to the cabinet.

"You two," I said, and the Gasman and Nudge jumped a bit. "Come with me."

. . .

**Max POV (off to the doctor's office)**

We drove to Mom's office, a sleeping total in my arms. Angel holding Mom's hand, worried for her favorite furry companion.

Once we were out of the car Total had ceased murmuring in his sleep about Shakespeare and his love for Akila. Mom smiled at her co-workers and led us into an examining room, flashes of my previous experiences were going through my mind, but it was Total that mattered right now.

I ruffled his fur, trying to wake him up and finally after a painful minute of him not stirring at all he groaned at muttered "What'd'ya do that for?"

"Were here fluffles, time to get up." I said as he unsteadily got to his feet. "Mom, what's wrong with him?"

Angel was sitting in the chair in the corner of the waiting room while Mom and I looked over him.

"Well it could be a number of things. . .I'm gonna have to get some info from Total himself," Mom said. "Total? Can you tell me what hurts?" He looked up wearily at mom.

"My. . .everything." He grunted. "My wings, my legs, my arms, my head, my _tail_, my **fur.**"

"Total, Do you feel cold at all?"

"Cold? Only a little bit, but isn't it chilly in here to you too?"

"Not really Total." I told him.

"Well, I think I _might_ know what's wrong, but I'm going to need to draw some blood. Is that okay Total? Max?" Mom asked.

I nodded and Total whimpered. _Angel why don't you come here and comfort Total._ I asked her and she jumped up and came to the table thing. He stopped whimpering as soon as Angel was beside him. Mom grabbed the syringe and stuck it into his fur.

Fang POV

While Ig and Ella were working on lunch *grrrowlls* . . . .yes, that was my stomach. . . . . anyway, while they were working on that, I had Nudge and Gazzy straightening up around the house. Nudge was currently cleaning the windows and Gazzy was fluffing pillows on the couch and prepping the floor for vacuuming.

Dr. M had wanted the house to be clean, but she chose not to say anything, just letting us be. I could see it in her eyes though, she wanted order in the house and I was going to make sure that by us being her, she wouldn't have to deal with the slobs that we are.

So with Iggy busy fixing lunch with Ella and the younger two cleaning up downstairs, I grabbed the window cleaner and squeegee (squee gee Squeegee? Weird word…) and started cleaning the sliding glass doors in the living room.

I heard Iggy say quietly that lunch was ready, so I went and grabbed the Gasman and Nudge from their chores and we ate lunch in as much silence as you can have with Nudge and Ella. I sighed internally. _Come back soon, Max?_

Max POV

I walked in the doors to find Fang sitting at the table in the kitchen typing away on his blog. His eyes met mine and my heart leapt. His eyes asked me _Where's Angel and Total?_ I sighed and went to sit with him. Grabbing my plate of food Iggy had left for me in the fridge on the way. Good kid, that one.

I took my seat across from him and took a bite of my super deluxe club sandwich. "Angel will be back inside in a bit. She's on the roof." I jerked my head toward the ceiling. He nodded a stiff nod. His eyes found mine again and I could hear him saying _What about Total?_

"He's still with mom," I said. "She thinks he may have caught some form of the flu, but she's doing a _bit_ of blood work to be sure." He cocked his head to the side. _I didn't think experiments were susceptible to human illnesses._

I shrugged. "Maybe Total's not as immune to those things as we are..?" I guessed. "Either way, Mom wants to be sure of what it is before she administers her treatment." His eyes narrowed. _Treatment? What kind of 'treatment' is she going to give a dog traumatized as much as we are?_

I shrugged again. "She knows how to deal with it. She dealt with me, three times." I reminded him. I took another bite of my sandwich and a gulp of sweet tea. "So where are the others?" I asked him.

"They're upstairs, playing a game." He said and after a moment of silence, I could hear them upstairs playing. . . ._quietly?_ I raised my eyebrows and Fang shrugged. I took another bite and looked around. It was _sparkling CLEAN_. What had they done that needed cleaning up? I shook the thought from my mind and figured _What the hey._ If they feel the need to clean, then by all means, don't let me get in the way.

Angel came walking in and gave me and Fang a wave and then headed up the stairs. _Go join the others, Okay? Have some fun. Total will be home before you know it._ I thought to her and she smiled weakly and nodded.

Mom said she'd be off work around 7, since her office closes at 6:30. But she said she'd give me a call when I could go pick up Total. I took the prepaid cell phone she had gotten me – against my will might I add – and whispered to Fang, knowing Iggy could hear. "Want to go on a little flight?" He nodded and got up as silently as possible.

I heard Iggy say, "I'll be back in a few." And a couple 'awe's' then he advanced down the stairs and we headed out the back. Only to be rejected by the door and landed on my but on the floor. With a pounding head and an aching behind, I decided that maybe I should just sit down for a few minutes.

I sat down on the couch while Iggy nearly fell over laughing, and Fang was shaking with silent laughter. I glared daggers at them both. "Who was the wise guy who decided to clean the door and _not_ tell me?" Iggy just laughed again and that brought down the other kids. _Oh, great._ I rolled my eyes.

Angel was trying in vain not to smile, bad mood forgotten as she saw me clutching my head with one hand and my but with the other. Ella was confused, but Gazzy and Nudge had heard what happened with perfect bird-kid clarity.

"Going somewhere, Max?" Gazzy asked with a manic grin on his face.

"Yeah, what's the rush?" Nudge said, crossing her arms with an evil smirk.

"Wait," Ella said scratching her head. "What just happened?" and I can't help it. I laughed. "I mean," she continued. "All I heard was a thud. But I don't get it . . .?"

"Well. . ." Nudge started, but Gazzy clamped his hand over her mouth.

"FANG MADE US DO IT!" the Gasman said and Nudge bobbed her head up and down in agreement, causing me to glare at Fang.

"I still don't get it…" Ella said.

"I don't know what they're talking about." Fang said. "I made them do no such thing." My eyes narrowed. _Like I believe that_. "I had them do their chores, that's all. They did them obviously. And well. There you go." He had had his hands up in front of him in the universal gesture for _I'm innocent I swear!_

The Gasman and Nudge were smiling still and Angel was laughing, but she was obviously on their side. So I stood up and in front of the three of them. "All right," I said, and their smiles faded. "Why the smirks and giggles, huh? You got something to say, well say it!" I finished and they were obviously regretting doing it in the first place.

"We, ummm.." the Gasman started, staring at his feet.

"We just didn't want you to go fly without us!" Nudge said, staring at the ceiling. "Because we knew you would most likely go for a fly when you got back and we had a plan that would make it so we would know when you were going to go. So when you got back all we had to do is wait for you to run into the door, and then we would come down and make you let us go too!"

You could of heard a pin drop . . . upstairs.

"Would _someone _**PLEASE**__explain what happened?" Ella said.

"Apparently these two booger buts wanted to make me suffer." I started. "So when Fang had them cleaning up around here they decided to make sure that the door was extra see through so I would walk into it and they would be able to tell when I was going to go fly." By the end, my words were dripping, maybe not icicles, since I reserve that tone for the School and Jeb, but it was definitely dripping Antarctica's water.

Ella laughed. "That's all? That's hilarious!" I glared at her.

Iggy clapped his hands together, making us all jump. "Now that that's been taken care of, who wants to have some fun?" the Gasman, Nudge, Angel and Ella all said yeah and so we headed out into the front yard for some flock style Fun.

**(Haven't done her before ^_^)**

Valencia Martinez worked hard to get all the patients seen on time and still be able to keep Total's information quiet. She had to see quite an array of animals on this day, and had her eldest daughter not been home she would've laughed and laughed to Ella about all the different animals.

Presently, she rested in her office, where Total was lying asleep to the world on top of a spare dog bed. He would have complained about the degrading treatment he was receiving, had he not been ill. The fact that Total was ill at all worried Valencia immensely. _I didn't think that any of them could get sick?_ She fretted silently. _What if it's something I can't cure?_ This is the reason she sent Angel home with Max. If Angel heard her worries it would only upset the poor girl.

She forced herself to think better thoughts, what to do while she awaited the test results on her computer? She walked out of her office needing some fresh air. After 5 minutes of deep breaths and happy thoughts outside in the warm Arizona sun, her phone beeped. It was Max.

_How's the furball?_ It said. Her youngest daughter had taught both Valencia and Maximum how to send text messages with mixed results. Valencia sighed as she went back into her secluded office to check the results and the dog.

She was both happy and sad that she had received the results. Happy because she finally knew what it was and that it was something that would be easily treated. She was sad because she had hoped that it was just a bit of exhaustion or something that another good night's rest would cure. She replied to her daughter saying: _You can come pick him up now; I'll tell you when you get here._

Maximum Ride arrived less than 10 minutes later. Hair windblown, cheeks flushed, wind breaker on. She walked on back to her mother's office, thankful that the staff there had gotten used to her blow it off attitude.

When she walked in the room Total was yawning and setting his head on his paws, his eyes droopy. Max sat down in the chair in front of the desk, watching her mother. "So, what's wrong with him? Is he going to be okay?" She asked in a tone that showed she really did care for this dog.

"Total has a version of a sickness called 'Valley Fever.'" Dr. Martinez said. Upon seeing the expression Max had on her face – one mixed with worry, caution, and confusion – she continued. "It's not _very_ dangerous, but it could have gotten a lot worse if we had waited. Valley Fever is contracted by inhaling certain spores that could have been released while he was digging or walking outside. It's a fungal illness that has settled in his lungs." Max sucked in a breath.

"I-It is treatable, right?" She asked slightly breathless.

"Yes. That's the good thing about this. He'll have to take a pill every so often and of course, I'll be monitoring his progress, but in a couple days time he'll probably back on his feet." Dr. Martinez said. "I'm going to bring home the medicine when I close up shop. I'll have to grind it into a powder; I don't think he'll appreciate having to swallow the pill the size it is now." Max nodded in agreement.

"That's great," she said. "Do you want me to take him home now? Or do you want to bring him home in the car later?"

Dr. Martinez hesitated, weighing the consequences of both. She finally settled on a decision and voiced it to her daughter. "I'll bring him home in a couple hours." She paused. "I assume we still have a home?" a smile played on the corners of her lips.

Max chuckled. "Yes. It's still there, thanks to Fang. If there's nothing else I can do, I'll be off then. Angel will want to know how he is." Her mother nodded.

"I love you." Dr. Martinez said to Max as she got up to leave. Maximum Ride turned to face the mother she had only known for a few years.

"I love you too, mom."

**A/N:**

Okay guys. . . how was it? Sorry for the lack of group reading. . . but I felt this was needed. : ) But I need input. I've never really tried to write a story from 3rd person viewpoint before . . . so I'm kind of wary about how this one turned out. . . .

Should I write like this more often? It was kind of fun. . . . :)

I honestly thought this was a nice break from the monotonous pass-the-book, read-the-chapter style that I've had going.

Favorite parts?

Favorite lines?

Hated parts?

Hated lines?

I NEED INPUT!  
You know the drill!

Until next time.

~Jezebel Raewin


	23. Chapter's 43, 44, & 45

**A/N: I own nothing.**

Max POV:

After a FANTASTIC dinner made by Iggy we all gathered together once more in the Living room to read.

Fang started off for us, right where we left off.

**Chapter 43 **"Hey Max?" Nudge piped up. "How many chapters are in this book? Cause I know that we're already 43 chapters in, but we've hardly made a dent in the book. . . Not an actual dent, you know what I mean? Like, I was just wonde-" Ella clamped her hand over Nudge's mouth. I sighed.

"I don't know, Nudge, I don't remember where each book leaves off. . . I wrote them a while ago."

"**Nudge, for the last time, give this up. This is a bad idea," said Fang. **I snickered, his face was priceless. I could basically hear his thoughts "Why'd I have to get the one that has me speaking in it. GRRRR." I smiled and shook my head. **"A **_**terrible**_** idea." Privately, Nudge was surprised that Fang was still with her. **Fang stopped for a second. "Did you really think I would leave you off on your own? My WORD Nudge!" He said and Nudge looked ashamed. **Fang had threatened to leave her several times, but when he saw she really wouldn't budge, he'd retreated into angry silence. **Mom laughed. . . How many times had I heard that side of Fang? Too many to count, either way. I shook my head as he continued, his voice betraying no emotion. Save for what was called for.

** Now they were at the edge of a trailer home neighborhood.** Nudge had started examining her shoes as if she would have to recreate them or she'd die.I moved over toward her and wrapped my arms around her shoulders. **Nudge had remembered an address, and Tipisco was so small that it wasn't hard to get around and find it. She didn't know what she had expected, but somehow this wasn't it. **"Well I don't think that many kids trying to find their parents would expect to have found their parents in a trailer park." Ella said, now sitting next to us as well.

** The trailer park was divided into meandering rows, most marked by rickety wooden signs with names like Roadrunner Lane or Seguro Street on them. **Gazzy snickered at the names, but I silenced him with one glance.

** "Come on," Fang said softly. "I see Chaparral Court."**

** They snaked **"Wait, snaked? I thought we were birds?" Iggy asked, trying to lighten up the atmosphere.** their way through the chokecherry bushes, gnarled junipers, abandoned appliances, and car skeletons that surrounded the neighborhood. **"That just sounds like it should be on the front of Homes and Gardens, doesn't it?" Angel said. **No white picket fences anywhere. **

** Nudge's quick eyes spotted an address, 4625, on the last mobile home of the line. She swallowed. Her parents could be **_**right there.**_** She pushed aside some spray paint cans, and she and Fang crouched beside an abandoned, graffitied car. **I started rubbing circles between her wings, I could really tell it was getting to her.

** "What if they moved?" Fang asked for the nth time. "What if you misunderstood what you read and the people aren't related to you at all?" Then, with horrible gentleness, he said, "Nudge, even if you weren't a test-tube baby – which you probably were – what if there was a reason they gave you up? They might not want you back." **I looked at Fang, who looked like he was ready to chuck the book across the room. Or maybe just at my head. Iggy's sightless eyes focused onto Fang. Fang, feeling our eyes on him read a little faster.

** "Do you think I haven't thought of that?" she whispered with uncharacteristic anger. "I know that! But I have to try. I mean, if there's the slightest chance – wouldn't you try?" **"Exactly why I tried in Virginia." Iggy said quietly. I nodded and said "I would have done the same thing, had I gotten any information on who my parents were ahead of time."

** "I don't know," Fang said after a pause. **

** "That's because you don't need anything or anybody," **"That's not true," I said. "Fang needs someone just as much as everyone does. He just doesn't show it." Fang grunted and continued to read. **Nudge said, turning back to stare at the mobile home. "But I'm not like that. I need people."**

** Fang was silent. **"A-a-as usual." I said drawing out the _as_, causing Iggy to laugh, and Nudge to smile.

** They were fairly out of sight between the car and some small pinyon trees. Nudge felt so nervous she was practically shaking.**

** Beside her, Fang tensed, and then Nudge heard a door opening. She held her breath as a woman came out of the mobile home. Nudge quickly looked at her own arm to see if their skin tones matched. Kind of. It was hard to tell. The woman came down into the front yard, which was covered in brown pine needles, and sat down in a cheap lawn chair in the shade. **

** Her hair was wet and in curlers, and there was a towel draped around her shoulders. She leaned back, lit a cigarette, and popped the top on a can of soda. **"No offense, Nudge," Ella said. "But I am really glad that wasn't her. It doesn't sound like someone who'd be likely to have a daughter as awesome as you." Nudge was really smiling now and I beamed at my awesome sister.

** "Coke. It's not just for breakfast anymore," **I smacked him upside the head for saying that at a time like this. The corners of his lips twitched as he read the next line. **Fang whispered, and Nudge elbowed him. **

** Hmm. Nudge sat back on her heels. It was weird. Part of her hped that **_**wasn't**_** her mom. It would have been better if she'd been, like, setting a tray of cookies on the windowsill to cool or gardening or something. Something mommish. **"Is 'mommish' even a word?" Ella asked. Mom shook her head. **But part of her still hoped it was her mom, because, frankly, **_**some**_**one, **_**any**_**one, was better than no one. **"Now, look here, missy." I started. "You're the one that was just telling me to snap out of it and look and what you go and do." Nudge smiled sheepishly and looked up me from underneath her long eyelashes. "I'm sorry, Max." She said. "But you would've done the same if you were in my shoes."

** Nudge just needed to get up, stroll over there, and say, "Um, did you lose a daughter named Monique, about ten, eleven years ago?" Yep, that's all she had to say. And then the woman would say –**

** "Looking for something, freaks? Guess you found it." **Mom groaned and Ella tensed. "That can't be good."

** There was no mistaking that beautiful, melodic Eraser laugh, right behind them. **"Nope," Mom said. "Not good at all. Get out of there!" Fang held the book out to Nudge who took it with a little bit more enthusiasm then Fang did.

**Chapter 44 **She read.

**Nudge jackknifed to her feet. There were three **"Oh, only three?" Iggy asked. "You definitely got this." I said. Knowing that they each could take on up to five at one time. Mom however looked worried. **of them, and they were already beginning to morph. They started off looking like male models, but then their freaky muzzles elongated, fangs erupted from blood-red gums, ragged claws grew from their fingertips. **A collective shudder spread throughout the room.

** "Ari," Fang said evenly. **My heart clenched, just a little, but enough for me to feel a tang of sadness for my poor brother.

** Nudge frowned and looked at the leader. Her eyes widened. "Ari!" she said. "You were just a little kid." **Mom was looking sad too, knowing that had to have been hard. The poor kid; the pain he must have experienced.

** He smiled, flexing his clawed hands. "And now I'm a great big grown-up Eraser," he said. He snapped his teeth together playfully, making strong clicking sounds. "And you're a little brown piglet. Yum." **Mom and Ella gasped.

** "What did they do to you?" Nudge asked quietly. "I'm sorry, Ari."**

** He frowned, his hairy brow lowering. "Save your pity for yourself. I'm exactly who I want to be. And I've got some news for you." He rolled up his sleeves to reveal heavily corded, muscled, hairy arms. "Your hideout in the mountains is nothing but ashes. Your pals keep having unfortunate accidents. You two are the last ones alive **"I can't believe I believed that." Nudge said hitting her head against her knees. **– and now we've got you."**

** This struck the Erasers as funny, and they chuckled, shoulders shaking, while Nudge's brain reeled. Last two alive? The others were dead? Their house had been burned down? **

** She began to cry and commanded herself to stop but she couldn't. Then she was weeping like a baby.**

** She glanced anxiously at Fang, but he was watching Ari, his jaw tight, his hands coiled into fists.**

** "Pinwheel," he muttered out of the side of his mouth. **"Good." I said. "Keep going with Fang, Nudge." Ella and Mom were kind of confused, with their heads cocked to one side they looked like little puppies.

** Ari frowned, obviously wondering what **_**pinwheel**_** meant, his large, beautiful eyes narrowing.**

** "Cholla first," Nudge muttered. **"I'm _so_ confused." Ella whined. Iggy, Gaz, Angel and I laughed.** She couldn't believe she was being so brave, almost like Fang. **_**The rest of the flock was dead? It couldn't be! It just couldn't!**_"IT ISN'T!" the 4, well would've been 5 but you know Fang, yelled and she jumped.

** "Count of three," Fang said evenly. Which meant **_**count of one.**_

** Ari leaned over, lightning fast, and cuffed Fang's shoulder. "Shut up!"** "And the rivalry starts." I muttered and Fang glanced at me. _It's not my fault, he cuffed me first._ _Either way, it started here._ _I'm not going to apologize. __I wouldn't expect you to, not after everything he did to _you_. But he did help me stay alive.__ People don't change. __Ari did._

"Max! Fang!"

"WHAT!"

"I've been calling your names for ages! Can I keep reading, now?" Nudge asked. Fang and I rolled our eyes simultaneously. It was only after that, that I realized the room was filled with laughter. I rolled my eyes again and motioned for Nudge to continue reading.

** "One," Fang said, regaining his balance, and Nudge instantly lunged forward, shoving the second Eraser in the chest as hard as she could. Taken off guard, he staggered backward, right into the sharp spines of a cholla cactus. Cursing, the Eraser waved his arms but landed smack on top of its three-inch needles, shrieking like a train wreck in the making. A lovely, musical train wreck. **"Um, OW!" Ella said and shivered.

** In the next second, Nudge launched herself into the air sideways, praying that Fang would catch her.**"Of course I would catch you." Fang said, feigning being wounded.

** He did, grabbing her arms and swinging her, following her momentum. Her feet kicked outward, smashing Ari in the side of the neck, almost knocking him over, and leaving him choking and gagging. **

** Then Fang swung Nudge as hard as he could, spinning her through the air as she snapped out her wings and beat them so fast that she stayed airborne. **"Good! Get out of there!" Mom said.

** "You're gonna die, mutant," Ari snarled, leaping for Fang as he pushed off the ground. He grabbed Fang's leg, and the both fell heavily. **Fang eyed me pointedly. _See? It wasn't my fault. It was ARI. All I ever did was fight back. _**Then Ari was sitting of Fang's chest, punching him. **Mom had covered her mouth with her hands, **Nudge gasped and put her hand over her mouth as she saw blood erupt from Fang's nose. The second Eraser kicked at Fang's chest, hard, over and over, **_**thunk, thunk. **_I looked at Fang. _Okay. I get it! I'm sorry, but he's still my brother. You could've given him a chance like I did.__ I tried. It..Just..didn't sit well with me. He could've been wired. He could've snuck off. I didn't want to risk it._ I sighed and looked away from his eyes.

** Nudge was freaking – this was a disaster. **"You can say that again." Ella said. "Okay! 'This was a disaster.'" Gazzy said in a perfect imitation of what Nudge had just said. I groaned. **The people in the trailer park were bound to notice her, hovering in front of the trees. Fang took another hit, his head jerking sideways, and then he spit a stream of bloody saliva right into Ari's face. Ari roared and brought both hands down onto Fang's chest with enough force to snap his ribs. Nudge heard Fang's breath leave him with a **_**whoosh**_**.**

** What to do? If she went down to the ground she would be dead meat, and so would Fang. If only she could – **

** Then she remembered the cans of spray paint on the ground. Maybe they were empty. **_**Maybe not.**_ _"That's why Ari's hair was green!_" of course it all made sense now, but still. I managed to lighten up the tension a little more and add to the confusion apparently. . . . I couldn't help but laugh.

** In an instant, she had dropped down, grabbed up the nearest can, and leaped back into the air, out of reach. She shook the can hard, then dropped a few feet and aimed it right at Ari's face. After a heart-stopping wheeze, green paint arced through the air. Air screamed and jumped to his feet, his clawed hands swiping at his eyes. **"Oh, yeah!" Gazzy yelled! "Go, Nudge!" Mom was laughing too, as well as Ella and Angel.

** Fang leaped up and took off faster than she'd ever seen him move. Nudge managed to get another Eraser in the face, and then the paint ran out. Nudge threw it hard at Ari's head, where it bounced off his healthy, thick, **_**green**_** hair. **

** Then she and Fang were in the air, **"Phew." Mom said smiling. **well above the Erasers. Ari was still standing, but his pal was on the ground, swearing and trying to wipe paint out of his eyes. The one who'd finally gotten off the cactus was way scratched up. Between the red blood and green paint, they looked kind of Christmassy.** "ewe." Ella said. "now, that's just gross."

** "You're **_**dead**_**, freaks," Ari snarled, his eyes streaming with tears, his long yellow teeth seeming too large for his mouth. **

** "Oh, like you're not a freak **_**yourself,**_**" Nudge said meanly. "Try looking in a mirror, dog boy!"**

** Ari fumbled in his jacket, then pulled out a gun. **"Oh snap. They had a gun?" Iggy swore under his breath. "How did you not get shot?"** Nudge and Fang rocketed out of there as fast as they could. A bullet whistled right past Nudge's ear. She's been **_**that**_** close to being deaf and dead. **"Oh," Ig said. "never mind."

** When they were safely away, Nudge said breathlessly, "I'm sorry, Fang. It was my fault you got hurt." **"No. It wasn't your fault." Fang said. "I don't know _How many times_ I have to tell you this. It wasn't your fault." Nudge nodded. "I know that. _Now._" She said.

** Fang spit more blood out and watched it fall a long, long way to the ground. "It wasn't your fault," he said. "You're just a kid."**

** "Let's go home," she said. **"But wasn't it burnt down?" Ella asked cocking her head to the side.

** "They said it burned down," Fang answered, wiping blood from his lip.**

** "No, I mean the home with the hawks," said Nudge. **"That makes more sense." Gazzy took the book from Nudge and groaned immediately. 

**Chapter 45**

**Angel **"Really? How much longer Max?" Ella asked almost desperately. I shrugged. "I'm sorry I was healing at the moment." She smiled sheepishly at me.** stared and stared and stared at Jeb Batchelder. **_HIM._

** She knew who he was. She had been only four years old the last time she'd seen him, **"And you could remember him?" Ella said. "WOW." I laughed at her behavior, but in my mind I knew she was still deeply jealous.** but still, she knew his face, his smile. She remembered Jeb tying her shoes, playing Old Maid with her, making popcorn. She remembered hurting herself and Jeb picking her up to hold her tight. Max had filled in for her how good Jeb had been, how he'd saved them from the bad people at the School. How he'd disappeared and they thought he was dead.**

** But he was alive! And he was here! He had come **_**back**_** to save her again! **"If only, if only. . ." Angel murmured to herself. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders. **Hope filled her like warm light. Angel almost jumped up to run to his arms.**

_**Wait. Think.**_** There was something wrong with this picture. **"as there often is in that . . ." Iggy murmured so only I could hear.

** She couldn't get a single thought from his head – it was a gray blank. That had never happened before. Also, he was wearing a **_**white coat.**_** He smelled all antisepticky. The fact that he was here **_**at all**_**. Her brain felt simultaneously hyper and sluggish, and she blinked several times, trying to figure this out, as if it were a two-minute mystery. **

** Jeb knelt on the wooden floor in front of her. The whitecoats who'd been running the maze melted into the background. Jeb reached back, then held something out to her.**

** Angel looked at it blankly.**

** It was a tray of food, lots of delish-looking food, hot and steaming. It smelled so good Angel felt a whimper of longing rise in her throat.**

** She stared at the tray, her brain crackling with input, and she had a bunch of thoughts all at once.**

** One, Jeb looked like he was on **_**their**_** side now. An enemy of the flock, like all the other whitecoats at the School.**

** Two, wait till Max found out about this. Max would be, well, she'd be so mad and so hurt and so upset that Angel couldn't even imagine it. She didn't **_**want**_** to imagine it. She didn't want t Max to ever feel that way.**

** "Angel, aren't you hungry? You haven't been getting very much to eat, have you?" Jeb looked concerned. "When they told me what they'd been feeding you – well, they misunderstood, sweetheart. They didn't know about your appetite."**

** He laughed a little, shaking his head. "I remember once we were having hot dogs for lunch. Everyone else had two hot dogs each. But you – you ate four hot dogs by yourself." **Mom's eyes widened. "You had FOUR hotdogs? You couldn't have been older than three!" there was silence for a second. "Yeah," I said. "She had the most to eat out of any of us. Though later Fang, Ig and I went back for more that afternoon." **He laughed again, looking at her as if he thought she was amazing. "You were three years old. Four hot dogs!" **I saw Angels eyes harden and she leaned further into me.

** He leaned forward, gently pushing the food tray nearer so it was right beneath Angel's nose. **"Jerk." Nudge muttered. "He should know she wouldn't take a thing."

** "The thing is, Angel, with your metabolism, and how old you are now, you should be getting about three thousand calories a day. I bet you haven't been hitting a thousand." He shook his head again. "That's going to change now that I'm here. I'll make sure they treat you right, okay?" **"Yeah, right." Gazzy muttered dangerously.

** Angel narrowed her eyes. This was a trap. This was exactly the kind of thing Max had warned them all about. **"I bet you never thought it would've come from him, though." Mom said sadly. I looked at her and let everything I felt about Jeb, my dad, my teacher, my enemy, show through my eyes and expression. "No." I said. "I never would have ever guessed that this kind of thing would come from Jeb. **Only Max had never guessed it would come from Jeb. **The Gasman almost smiled.

** Without saying a word, Angel sat up, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at him the way Max stared at Fang when they were having an argument and she was going to win. **This time, I smiled. _That's my girl._ I thought.** Angel made herself not look at the food, not even smell the food. She was so freaked at seeing Jeb here that her stomach was all in knots anyway. The fact that she couldn't pick up any of his thoughts made him seem weird and dead to her.**

** Jeb smiled ruefully and patted Angel's knee. "It's okay, Angel. Go ahead and eat. You need to. I want you to feel better." **

** She tried not to even blink, not to show how upset she was.**

** Sighing, Jeb unrolled the white paper napkin, took out a fork, and placed the fork right into the food on the plate. All she would have to do is reach down . . . and she was doomed? **"You wouldn't take anything from him. Why?" Ella asked, sounding tired, confused, and sad. "He was our guardian turned enemy." I started for Angel. "How would you feel if mom just up and left only to be found on the dark side of it all?" Ella frowned, sighed and nodded her head weakly.

** "I know this is all confusing, Angel," Jeb said gently. "I can't explain everything now. It will all become clear soon, though, and then you'll understand." **

** "Suurrre." Angel put every bit of pain at her betrayal into that one word.**

** "The thing is, Angel," Jeb went on earnestly, "life itself is a test. **"How many times have you heard that, now, Max?" Iggy asked me with a smirk. I groaned and put my head in my hands. **It's all a test. Sometimes you just have to get through it, and then later on everything makes more sense. **"Too many times. Too many times!" **You'll see. Now, go ahead and eat. I promise it's okay. I **_**promise**_**." **"Like, anyone would believe that." Nudge muttered.

** Like she would believe any of his promises.**

** "I hate you," she said. **The Flocks' faces were that of stone. We'd all thought it at one point. I don't know how many of us still think that now, my own thoughts are too confusing for me to figure out.

** Jeb didn't look surprised. Maybe a bit sad. "That's okay too, sweetheart. That's perfectly okay." ** Gazzy put the book down and got up for a glass of water.

Angel meekly took the book from the ground and fingered the next few pages. "Should I read, Max?" She asked. "Only if you feel like you can." I told her. She's been through a lot and this book is bringing all her thoughts and pain and torture back to the forefront of her mind. She took a big breath and started to read.

**A/N:**

**Okay guys, has it really been 2 months? I'm super-de-dooper sorry. D:**

**School has just taken hold of me and gone like max does when she uses her superspeed. **

**On the upside, I AM still updating and I am over halfway done with my school semester!**

**Oh the joys of being homeschooled *sigh* ^_^**

**How about a major shout out to anyone who can tell me if this Chemical compound is balanced: **

**2FeCl****3****+3Na****2****CO****3 ****– Fe****2****C****3****O****9****+6NaCl**

**Also, I love it when I get reviews. Helpful ones. But come on guys, there are bound to be typos. It happens okay? I know I got one helpful review from about the boldface font getting mixed up on one chapter. . . if that happens again, let me know okay? That's the only way I'll be able to fix it!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**~Jezebel Raewin**


	24. Chapter's 46, 47, & 48

Angel took a deep breath, looked at the chapter again and sighed. "I just don't think I can right now." She handed the book to Ella who was looked at the chapter and smiled.

"If you say so," El said.

**Chapter 46**

"**I. Am. In. Heaven," I said, inhaling deeply. **"Must be cookies." Fang said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey!" I said. "You don't know that for sure," my voice growing quiet toward the end. God, I sounded like such a little kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar. Great, now everyone was laughing at me.

** Dr. Martinez laughed. "Watched cookies never brown," she teased me.**

** To make my Mayberry holiday complete, the three of us had actually made chocolate chip cookies – from **_**scratch**_** – after dinner. **"The first one I ever had." I sighed and smiled up at mom. I could still taste it too.

** I ate enough raw cookie dough to make myself sick, and then I got high off the fumes of gently baking cookies. ** "This must have been so funny to watch." Nudge said, giggling. Ella nodded her head as she laughed. "It was downright hilarious!" I pouted and crossed my arms, but the smile didn't stay gone long. **I could see the chocolate chips melting through the oven window.**

_**Note to self: Show Nudge and Angel how to make choc-chip cookies.**_

** If I ever saw Angel again. **Smile gone. "I thought you were done thinking that way." Gazzer said. I shrugged.

** Ella's mom took the first cookie sheet out of the oven and slid in the second. **"Cue burnt fingers and tongue." Iggy said. I stuck my tongue out uselessly at him. **I could hardly wait for the cookies to cool and, seizing one, took a bite, almost burning my tongue. **"Ha! I was right!" Iggy said. "No you weren't," I argued. "I didn't burn my fingers and I _almost, ALMOST _burnt my tongue." "Eh," he said. "Close enough."

** Incoherent murmurings of pleasure escaped my lips as I chewed slowly, savoring every bite. Ella and her mom watched me, identical smiles lighting their faces.**

** "You'd think you'd never tasted homemade cookies before," Ella said. **

** "Haven't," I mumbled, swallowing. It was the best thing I had ever tasted in my entire life. It tasted like home.**

** "Well, have another," said Dr. Martinez. **"It was more like 'Have another, and another, and another and another and-" "We get the picture Ella. Thank you though." I interrupted her.

** "I have to take off tomorrow," I told Ella that night when we were getting ready for bed. **

** "No!" she said, distressed. "I love having you here. You're like a cousin. Or my sister."** "Funny how things like that tend to come back and bite you in the butt." I said, smiling at Ella and she beamed back to me.

** Funny how something like that can make you feel worse. "People are depending on me. – it's really important." ** "You could have told me, you know?" Ella said.  
I sighed. "I almost did. But I just couldn't risk it."

** "Will you come back to visit?" she asked. "**_**Ever?**_**" **

** I looked at her helplessly. It was the first time I had ever connected with a nonflock human being – besides Jeb.**

** It had been really cool. The best.**

** Plus her mom was **_**so**_** awesome. **Mom was beaming. **She was strict about some things – don't leave your socks lying around – but so not strict about other things, like calling the cops about my bullet wound. **"You definitely made it into my nice book with that one." I told her and she laughed. **Unlike any other parent I'd ever heard of, she didn't press for details, didn't lecture, and believed what I said. She actually accepted me. Like she accepted Ella, for who she was.** Mom beamed at me and I smiled right back.

** It was enough to give me a psychotic break – if I let myself dwell on it.**

** "Probably not," I said, hating the hurt look on Ella's face. "I just – don't think I'll be able to. If I ever could, I would, but –" **

"I always hoped you would come flying back. I just had to keep my eyes on the skies." Ella said.

Mom nodded her head. "She did too." Mom told me. "She would watch the sky and then she would read the news anywhere she could – but she wasn't obvious when we went out."

Ella blushed. "I was worried." She said quietly.

** I turned away and started brushing my teeth. Jeb had always said to think with your brain, not your emotions. He'd been right, as usual. So I put all my feelings in a box and locked it. **

Ella finished reading and was looking between Mom and Angel. "Who wants to read now?"

Angel put her hand out. "I'll do it this time."

I smiled at her as she received the book.

**Chapter 47 **Angel read.

**Nudge still couldn't accept that Max and the others were dead. **"It's because they weren't dead." Angel said. **It was impossible – she couldn't deal with it – so she forced herself to think other thoughts. **"This was probably one of my hardest moments. . ." Nudge said.

I looked at her. "Even after all else we've been through?" I asked.

"Even then," she said. "Because even though we had split up, even though I stayed behind, through it all, I knew everyone was still alive. But this. This was hard." I nodded my head, completely understanding.

** Nudge guessed it was kind of sad that, right now, this scraped-out shallow ledge in the middle of a desert cliff actually felt cozy and comfortable to her. **"No," Fang said. "That was a nice sheltered and comfy place. It felt like home after a couple days." For Fang to have said that, that was something else.** She lay on her back, feet up against the wall, bruised legs out straight, examining the strata of colors – cream, tan, pink, peach – in the solid rock overhead. The sun out there was hot, but it was cool in here, and breezy. **There was a sigh from Gazzy, Iggy, and Nudge. They had all loved that place. . . Maybe . . . a plan started forming in my head as Angel read the next line.

** It just goes to show you, she thought. You think you need all your stuff, your favorite cup, your best blanket, soap, your **_**parents**_** – and then you realize that all you really need is to be where the Erasers can't get you. **"That's what I've been trying to say from the beginning." Fang said. Well, his eyes said it. _You know we couldn't have just done that. _ I thought back. _Now we could. _

I whacked him upside the head. _And we basically are._

**She couldn't get over Ari. He'd been a little kid the last time she'd seem him. She remembered how he'd seemed to get on Max's nerves, **A chuckle came from Fang and Iggy, who saw Max's irritated side after Ari would follow her around. I glared at them. And then it softened, the poor kid, never lived a day over eight. **always following her around. Now he was a full-grown Eraser, the worst of them all. How could that have happened in only four years? **"Anything can happen at that place." Fang said darkly.

** Half an hour ago, she and Fang had heard the very distant **_**chop-chop**_** of a helicopter. **"Oh, no. They can't get that low, though, right?" Mom asked, worried. **They'd pulled as far back into the cave as they could, flattening themselves against the cool back wall. After twenty minutes of silence, **"Phew." Mom said along with Ella. Gazzy and Iggy were slightly smiling though. **Fang had decided it was safe and gone to look for food. She hoped he came back soon.**

** Their house was burned to cinders. Every one of her friends except Fang was dead. She and Fang were really on their own – maybe forever. **"ARGH! Would you stop thinking that!" Iggy said. "It's really annoying." I chuckled.

** Fang flapped up the side of the cliff, landing almost silently **Fang looked affronted, but didn't say anything. I smiled. He's learning just to accept it.** on their ledge. Nudge felt a warm flow of relief. **

** "Can I interest you in a bit of raw desert rat?" **A few things happened at once here. Fang laughed. Nudge slightly smiled. Mom, Ella, and Angel were looking really grossed out. I could feel comprehension dawning on my face. "So THAT'S where it all started!" I Said, causing everyone to laugh at me. **he asked, patting his windbreaker pocket.**

** "Oh, no!" Nudge said, horrified.**

** He shrugged off his windbreaker and brushed some dust off his black T-shirt. Popping something in his mouth, he chewed and swallowed loudly. "Can't get fresher," he said cajolingly. **Iggy and the Gasman laughed, Fang did too, though a little quieter.

** "Ugh!" Nudge shuddered and turned away from him. Rat! Flying like the hawks was one thing; eating like them was **_**not **_**going to happen. **"I'm with you there, Nudge." I said, glaring at Fang.

** "Okay, then," said Fang. "How about some kabobs? **"There, now we're talking. But how did you find Kabobs in the middle of nowhere basically?" Ella asked.

"I'm sure you'll find out in a second." I said. **You get the vegetables." **

** Whirling, Nudge saw Fang unfolding a foil packet. Instantly, the smoky, meaty smell of cooked beef and vegetables filled her nose.**

** "**_**Kabobs!**_**" she said, hurrying to sit by Fang. "Where did you get them? You didn't have time to go all the way to town. Oh, my gosh, they're still hot."**

** "Let's just say some campers are going to be a little surprised," **

I laughed, imagining the scene. The campers in their tent getting situated and then Fang comes out of nowhere, ninja jumps to the fire pit and swipes the kabobs without a sound. Then he ninja rolled out of there again, without a sound, and flew away once he was a safe distance away. By the end of my little fantasy, Angel _and _I were laughing hysterically.

It took us a minute to finally compose ourselves enough so Angel could read on, and even then you could still hear the laughter in her voice.

**Fang said drily, pushing the meat off into one pile, the onions and peppers into another.**

** Nudge took a bite of grilled pepper. It was warm, smoky, tender – utter heaven.**

** "Now, **_**this**_** is food," she said, closing her eyes. **

** "So I guess we have to decide whether to keep looking for Max, or go try to save Angel," said Fang, eating the chunks of beef.** "You would never have made it in _and_ out with just two of us." Iggy said. "You needed to wait."

"Well you didn't give us much choice, now did you?" Fang asked and I smiled, knowing we would all be together soon.

** "But the Erasers said everyone else was dead. **"Will you QUIT listening to those stinkin' Erasers?" Gazzy asked. **Doesn't that mean Angel and Max too?" Nudge asked, feeling a sad weight settle on her again.**

** "No way to tell," Fang said. "The thing is, if Max isn't here, is it because she's dead? How would they have found her? Angel . . ." He paused. "Well, we **_**knew**_** they had Angel. That's probably all over by now." **

** Nudge held her head in her hands. "I can't think about it."**

** "I know. But what are your –" He stopped, squinting, looking off into the distance.** "Oh, no." Ella said. "More Erasers?"

** Shading her eyes, Nudge looked out too. Way far off, she could barely make out two dark splotches. **Iggy and the Gasman started smiling. **Well, so what? Just more hawks. **"Why do I have a feeling their more than just hawks?" Mom asked warily. "You'll see." I answered her, causing her to groan.

** She sat back and slowly at her last chunk of onion, then licked the foil they'd been wrapped in. Fang had to come up with a plan – that was all there was to it. **I was laughing again. Fang had told me how much he had _loved_ being leader, being the one to come up with the plans. Fang silenced me with a single look.

** But Fang kept looking out at the sky. **More groans, until Mom and Ella saw Gazzy and Ig's grins.

** Nudge frowned. The two dark splotches were bigger now, closer. They must be mighty big hawks. Maybe they were eagles! **"That would have been awesome." Nudge said, Fang nodded.

** Suddenly, Fang stood and fished in his pocket for his small metal mirror. Holding out his hand, he caught the last bits of sunset in the mirror, flashing their reflection outward. **"You got on quick, Fang." Iggy said.

"Did you really expect me not to?" Fang answered.

Mom was smiling now, obviously glad that they would be reunited once more.

** He flashed it, then stopped, flashed, then stopped.**

** The hawks became larger, closer. Now they were definitely spiraling downward in their direction.**

_**Please don't let them be flying Erasers, **_"Please tell me there's no such thing," Ella said. I grimaced. "Sorry," I told her. "But on the plus side, we don't run into them for a good while yet." She sighed and nodded. **Nudge thought in sudden panic. She'd just realized they were too big, too awkward to be real raptors.**

** Then her mouth dropped open. Half a minute later, Iggy and the Gasman landed clumsily on the ledge, **"So that's how you two got back to the group. . ." Angel said. **knocking rocks and dust everywhere. Nudge just stared at them, so happy she could hardly believe it.**

** "You aren't **_**dead**_**," she said. **"That's your welcome?" Ella said, laughing. Nudge glared at her. "I thought they were dead. What did you expect me to say?" She ended up chuckling too, though.

** "No. You aren't dead either," **Iggy smiled, remembering that he said this. **said Iggy irritably. "How about just 'hello'?" **"I think he feels – felt – the same way, Ell." I said, sniggering.

** "Hi, guys," said the Gasman, brushing dust out of his hair. "We couldn't stay home – there's Erasers all over the mountain. So we decided to come here. Anybody have a problem with that?" **Angel passed the book to mom, and was smiling, obviously glad we were all together again.

Mom took the book, smiling and ready to read on to the next chapter.

**Chapter 48**

**The next morning I pulled on my new sweatshirt. I'd tried out my wing. It worked, though it was incredibly stiff and sore. **"I bet, it takes a while for those things to heal." Iggy said, as our 'doctor' among the flock he knew a bit more about wound than your average Avian-American.

** I was relieved to go, to get back in the air. I knew Fang and Nudge were going to kill me. **"We wouldn't do that," Nudge said.

"Er, the thought _may_ have crossed my mind. . ." Fang said.

**I knew I had let Angel down. **"You couldn't have just gone and left Ella to fend for herself, Max," Angel said. "You wouldn't be you if you had." **But there was no way I could have **_**not **_**done what I did. I wouldn't be Max. **Angel smiled.

** To tell you the truth, not being Max sometimes had its appeal. **"You wouldn't be able to stand not being you, and you know it." The Gasman said.

** Dr. Martinez pushed a small backpack at me. "It's an old one – I don't use it," she said quickly, knowing I wanted to refuse any more help. "Please take it." **

** "Well, since you said 'please,'" I muttered, and she laughed. **Everyone was laughing.

** Ella was watching the ground, her shoulders hunched. I tried not to look at her either. **"You'll get to see each other again." Nudge said.

"I didn't know that then," Ella said.

"Neither of us did," I told her, "believe me, I would of told you if I had thought I would be able to come back at some point. And I did. It was just a while later." Ella smiled.

** "If you ever need anything, anything at all, please call us," **"She won't do it." Iggy said.

"I know," Mom said, "but I just had to try." **said Ella's mom. "I put my phone numbers inside the pack."**

** I nodded, even though I knew I would never use the numbers. I had no idea what to say. But I had to try.**

** "You guys helped me," I said stiffly, "and you didn't even know me. It would have been bad if you hadn't." How's that for eloquent, eh? I sounded like freaking **_**Tarzan**_**. **This had quite a few laughs ringing through the air.

** "You helped **_**me,**_**" Ella pointed out. "And you didn't even know me. You got hurt because of me."**

** I shrugged in that endearing way I have. "Anyway – thanks. Thanks for everything. I really appreciate it." **"That's not something you hear every day." Iggy said and I smacked him upside the head. "OW! What was that for?" He asked. "I was only telling the truth." His voice grew softer at the end.

** "You're welcome," said Ella's mom, smiling kindly. "We were glad to do it. And good luck – with whatever happens."**

** I nodded, and then – get this – they both hugged me at once, like a Max sandwich. **Everyone was laughing again. **Once again, I felt the horror of tears starting in my eyes, and I blinked them back quickly. But I let them hug me, and sort of patted Ella's elbow, which was all I could reach. I won't lie to you – it felt really good. And really awful at the same time. **"That shouldn't feel awful." Mom said with a frown.

"Just keep reading, I'm sure you'll hear my reasoning." I said.

**Because what's worse than knowing you want something, besides knowing you can never have it? **"Oh," Mom said, "I guess that does make sense. I'm still not happy about it though."

** I disengaged myself gently and opened the door. Outside, it was sunny and warm. I gave a little half-wave, hoping it was jaunty, **"Max," Angel started. "What's 'jaunty' mean?"

"Jaunty is like carefree, I guess you could say." I told her. "It could be happy, confident, perky. Any of those." She nodded.

**then headed out into the yard. I'd decided to give them a sort-of present. I felt they deserved it.**

** Would they think I looked goofy? What did we – the flock – look like to outsiders? I had no idea, and I didn't have time to start caring.**

** I adjusted my sweatshirt and the backpack. I turned. Ella and her mom were watching me with wide, curious eyes. **"I thought you were just going to run off into the woods. I didn't know you were going to give as a flight demonstration." Ella said laughing.

** I ran a few steps and leaped upward, unfurling my wings, feeling them fill with air, **Ella sighed, low enough to where mom wouldn't notice, but we feathered friends could all hear just fine. Angel and Fang looked at me pointedly. _I know, I know!_ I thought, looking into Fang's eyes so he would understand, knowing Angel wouldn't need eye contact.** wincing slightly as my damaged muscles pulled and strained. Fully extended, my wings were thirteen feet across, **"Only thirteen feet? I thought they were almost fifteen feet . . .?" Ella asked.

"I've obviously grown a little since then." I said.

**speckled brown and splotched with white.**

** A hard downstroke, **_**ouch**_**, then upward, **_**ouch**_**, then down. The Familiar rhythm. Ella's face was awed and delighted, her hands clasped together. Dr. Martinez was wiping her eyes, her smile wobbly.**

** A minute later, I was way high, looking down on Ella's little house, at the two small figures waving hard up at me. I waved back, then banked, feeling the familiar joy of flying, the freedom, the speed. **"That is nothing compared with my speed now." I said and several of the flock nodded enthusiastically. **I soared off toward the horizon, heading northwest, on my way to meet Nudge and Fang, who I hoped would miraculously still be where I'd told them to be. **"We were, obviously, since the terrible two decided to join us." Fang said. Iggy, however, looked affronted. "_Terrible two?_ I like Dynamic Duo better." He said.

Gazzy nodded in agreement. I laughed.

_**Thanks, Ella,**_** I thought, refusing to feel sad. **_**Thank you both, for everything.**_

_**Angel, I'm on my way at last.**_

"That's the end of the chapter." Mom said putting the book on the coffee table. "It was also then end of _Part Two_ apparently. Seeing as the next page says _Part Three._"

I chuckled. "The next part should be us rescuing Angel." I said. And her face brightened a little bit.

"What do you say we call it a night here?" Fang asked as Angel yawned and leaned against Ella.

I nodded my head along with mom, even though I knew I wouldn't be sleeping till the wee hours of the morning. Angel and Nudge headed up to Ella's room to get their jammies on. Ella however went to the kitchen for her regular mug of calming tea.

I followed her and checked the time on the microwave. 9:55. Not too bad. Ella sat down at the table with her mug and I sat down across from her, grabbing a mug of tea of my own. She looked up at me. "What's up?" She asked.

"Look," I said, trying to figure out how to be suave about this. "We need to talk."

She took another sip and said, "Okay. What about?"

"I know how you feel." Does that sound Ominous or what? "And I have to say this now, before you go and do anything drastic." I took a deep breath. "Hold on. Hold on to what you have. You don't know how precious this is! You don't know how lucky you are to be normal, to go to school, to have friends and just hang out. You don't know how lucky you are you have mom! To be able to come home EVERY day, and sleep in the same bed EVERY night! To get hugs and kisses whenever you need them!" Fang was rubbing my back and Ella started shrinking back in her chair.

"I'm sorry, Max." She whispered. "I know it was a fool-" I cut her off.

"Foolish? It's more than just foolish! You don't know the pain you would be in! It would be pure agony! Ari had wings grafted onto his back at the age of 7. And he was constantly in pain. Not to mention the tests they would do to see how far you could go. I doubt they've ever had a 'volunteer' to have needles thrust in them, _just_ so they could FLY!" By now, Ella's eyes were watery.

"Okay, okay! I get it already! I'm sorry! I knew I shouldn't have been thinking about it. I knew that you would have found out somehow and I knew you would talk me out of it, but maybe, maybe that's all I wanted." She finished even softer than before.

"If you just wanted to talk, all you had to do was ask." I told her quietly. "You know I'm always here for you. . .when you can reach me at least." I finished with a smirk. "But I'm here for you now and hopefully will be for a while. So if you need to talk pull me away. I know I wasn't here for you when you were younger, but I will always be your big sister and I will always care for you." I added with a smile.

"I know, Max. I know." She smiled a watery smile. "Thank you. I love having you around. Do you think….would it be possible….I mean, what I'm trying to say is–"

"Just spit it out, El."

"Well, I was wondering if maybe you could try taking me for a short flight. . .?" She asked quietly, blushing.

"To tell you the truth," I started, "I'll have to see. It depends on a number of things. Give me some time to think about it okay?" Ella nodded enthusiastically.

"And now," I told her, "you need to go to bed, it's almost 10:30." She yawned and blushed again.

"Okay, fine." She said getting out of her chair to put her mug in the sink. I got up to do the same and once we were headed to the stairs she stopped and pulled me into a hug.

"I love you, Max." She said, her voice thick.

"I love you too, Ella." I answered back.

And with our touchy feely sister moment over with, she went to her room and I went to brush my teeth.

**A/N: **

**0_0**

**Woah.**

**Can you say record timing on my part? I can't believe how easily this chapter came to me! Wow!**

**Don't get used to this . . . this is just a . . . make up chapter? Anyway, I couldn't wait to put this one up so here's to all my faithful reviewers! And I got super excited to see even more story adds and favorite story adds! Super de dooper exciting!**

**Unless I was misinformed,**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	25. Of Secret Plans and Teamwork

When the fingertips of dawn found their way through the windows in the living room early the next morning, Max and Fang were stretched out on the couch covered by a blanket. Maximum Ride's mouth stretched open in a deep yawn as her eyes tightened even more before she opened them to see just why she felt as if she was sleeping on warm tree branch.

Her eyes slightly widened as brown met deepest black and she felt a faint blush creeping up her cheeks. She climbed off of him and he smiled as she stretched and yawned yet again, ruffling her feathers as she reached for the ceiling.

"Tired?" Fang asked, amused. She nodded in response and rubbed her eyes with her hand.

"What time is it?" Max asked, trying in vain to hold back another yawn.

"Around 5:45," Fang responded, rubbing the sleep out of his own eyes. "How did you sleep?"

Max found her way to the kitchen as she said, "Okay, I guess. I don't know why, but it feels as if I only got 5 minutes of sleep." She grabbed the coffee grounds and started making a fresh batch – it was one of the extremely few things she could make in a kitchen besides a mess.

"Hmm," Fang said quietly. "It might have had something to do with why you were practically kicking me in your sleep. Or maybe why you were murmuring too." Fang stretched his wings out and yawned. "You kept me up half the night."

"Stop doing that!" Max said, then added as she saw Fangs confused eyes looking at her from beneath his unruly hair, "Yawning. It's making me yawn more."

"Yeah," Fang said. "Yawning is contagious." Max looked at him unbelievingly. "No, I'm serious."

"Uh, huh." She said. "Whatever you say, McGoogle."

"Where'd that one come from?"

"Oh, I don't know. I think it was from some TV show. . . I don't remember the name."

Max grabbed a coffee cup from the cupboard and filled it with the now strong brew. She sat down at the table as Fang produced two boxes of waffles from the freezer.

They continued to eat their breakfast in peaceful quiet until around 6:15 when Doctor Martinez came walking down the stairs in her bathrobe and slippers.

"Good morning, Max. Fang." She said with a whisper of sleep still in her throat.

"Morning, mom," Max got up to give her a hug. Fang nodded his acknowledgement. "Hey, I was wondering," Max started, "would you mind if we took Ella for a flight up to Lake Mead tonight? It's supposed to be perfectly clear."

Doctor Martinez looked thoughtful, still sleepy, and said, "Let me think about it. Oh, look!" she said. "You made coffee? Thank you, Max." She smiled and sat down with a cup of her own and chuckled as she saw the two empty boxes of waffles.

Max replied with a simple, "My pleasure," and then turned her head to see who was coming down the stairs this time. Nudge was stumbling down the stairs in her purple 'pop princess' pajamas with sparkling purple slippers; her hair up in a sloppy bun with many wisps flying every which way.

"You could work at chick-fil-a, Max," Nudge said groggily. "I think they say that every time they serve someone. I remember going there sometime when we were on the run, remember? Cause I got like, 10 of those carrot salad things and fries and a huge sweet tea and you guys nearly ate out their supply of chicken."

"Okay, Nudge," Max said. "Still a little early for rabbit trails."

Nudge nodded quietly and grabbed a medium sized mixing bowl and filled it halfway with her favorite cinnamon toast crunch cereal.

Iggy came bumbling down the stairs behind Angel with the Gasman following.

"How about some French toast and eggs, Ig?" Gaz was asking with sweet 10 year old innocence. Angel agreed, as the three of them made their way to the table.

"So that only leaves my other daughter." Valencia Martinez murmured to herself, sighed and upon seeing Max looking at her, nodded and said 'fine.' . Max, upon hearing this, laughed and got up.

"Great! I'll go wake her up," she volunteered, cheerfully, and every member of the flock either smirked or cringed. Valencia's smile faltered, but then came back.

Maximum Ride practically skipped with glee to the window, causing Dr. Martinez to laugh a wary laugh and say, "Max, her room is upstairs." The younger members of the flock laughed at her behavior, only Iggy was worried.

"Did I just hear Max go out the front door?" everyone in the room said "Yes." In different tones.

Once outdoors, Max took a running leap into the air and unfurled her wings. She circled the house for a minute, still in her camisole and sweatpants, and then dropped down to her sister's window. The sun, warming her back as she gazed into Ella Martinez's bedroom window, cast her shadow to fall right across Ella's sleeping, blissful face, causing her smile to falter.

Max's fingers drummed a tune against the window, inaudible for regular humans, but perfect for Fang and Iggy to hear; they had worked this out a month or two ago with each other so they knew exactly what Max had meant by that little tune.

Max heard them sneak up the stairs and creep into the doorway to Ella's room.

She crouched – in mid-air – right outside the window and knocked on the window loud enough so Dr. Martinez could hear downstairs. Ella rolled over and put her pillow over her head, murmuring, "go away."

Max knocked harder still and this time Ella sat bolt upright in bed, staring straight at the window where Max had been not 2 seconds ago. "Huh?" Max heard Ella say, laying down against her pillow again.

Max waited 20 seconds and sprung back up to the window and drummed her fingers against the window with a different tune, one just for Iggy and Fang. They nodded and she struck her knuckles on the window another time for Ella to jump up again and stare angrily and confusedly at the window, looking from it to her doorway – the boys had slunk around the corner to avoid being seen.

She laid down one more time, looking around her room warily before closing her eyes. Max clutched her sides and flew above the house for a second to giver herself a moment before entering the last stage of her wake-up call.

Max, back to her . . . coffee-high-normal self, hovered outside Ella's window one last time, she tapped the window to give the boys a heads up and slid open the bedroom window with breaking in expertise that only a mutant bird-kid could have. She slid in without a sound and took a loose feather from one of her wings, and clutched it in her hand. She walked forward and gently left it on the floor beside her bed and sprawled out on the floor, wings out.

This time, the knocking sound came from the hallway, and Ella jumped up with an exasperated sigh. "What!" She yelled. "What is it?" She broke off and inhaled as she saw a feather lying next to her older sister, who had let out a little snore and made her breathing deep and even.

"Max, oh Max," Ella whispered. "What I'm going to do with you, no one knows."

"Except for Angel"

"God, Max!" Ella cried, jumping backwards, followed by the click of a camera and the shuffle of feet going downstairs. "Was that really necessary?" She asked, her heart hammering against her chest. She gave her half-sister a look of complete and utter frustration mingled with confusion, yanked open her bedroom door and ran right into Fang. "Gah!" She spluttered. "Fang, I'm sorry, but could you PLEASE let me out of my room? And drag your girlfriend out while you're at it."

"Whatever you say, Ella." Fang said, completely surprising Ella with a huge, un 'fang' like smile.

She gaped at him while he sidestepped into her room, then jumped out the window.

"These guys are gonna give me a heart attack." She muttered, putting her hand on her forehead.

**A/N:**

**Whoever can tell me what the nickname McGoogle came from will be given a chapter dedication :)**

**Anyway, sorry guys, no reading in this one. But I wanted to update and the reading part just wasn't ready yet. :/**

**It will be ready soon though okay? **

**I want to see some good reviews comin my way for this chapter. I had a LOT of fun writing it! xD**

**Bee tee dubs: **

**Happy Halloween! I hope everyone had fun! I know I had a lot of fun carving my owl in a pumpkin! ^_^**

**Fly on!**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	26. Chapter's 49, 50, & 51

**AN: I own nothing, see ya at the bottom!**

Breakfast finished fast enough and Ella still hadn't found out about Max's secret plan for that night. In fact, Ella avoided her sister's eyes only allowing for occasional glares. Once they had all gathered in the living room, Max, after coming down from her 'high on life', picked up the book and started to read.

**Part 3**

**School - what could be scarier than that? **She read. "Yeah, really." Iggy said and everyone in the room shivered.

**Chapter 49**

**After about half an hour, I felt like I'd worked most of the kinks out of my muscles. **Max shrugged her shoulders and shook out her wings involuntarily. **I knew tomorrow I'd be horribly sore, but right now I felt okay, and right now was what mattered. **"Don't strain yourself, Max," Doctor Martinez said motherly. Max grimaced. "I didn't mom, don't worry." **I flew hard and fast, coasting on air currents whenever I could. **"Too bad you didn't have supersonic speed, yet, huh?" Iggy asked.

** This time, I didn't look down. **There were a couple chuckles and Fang and Iggy said, "Smart Move."

** An hour later, **"So it's only an hour and a half away?" Mom said, and Max nodded her head. Ella looked curious, but just let it be. **I was approaching the meeting place, praying that Nudge and Fang had waited for me.**

** I was two days late, and I wouldn't blame them for giving up on me, but I didn't want to think about the possibility that they had decided to rescue Angel on their own. **"That would have been _suicide!_" Nudge exclaimed. "We never would've gone without you, not unless we had no other option."

** When I got close to the meeting place, I started circling big, losing altitude slowly while examining the ground, the cliffs, the shadows. Nothing. **"Oh, no." Doctor Martinez muttered. "You didn't separate did you? Did you leave?" Fang shook his head silently as Iggy placed his hand over Nudge's mouth.

** I flew the length of a canyon, looking for signs, but was disappointed again. Panic made my throat tighten. I'd been so **_**stupid**_**.**

** Oh, God, what if they had never made it here? What if – **"Quit being so pessimistic, Max!" Ella said. "We all know they made it there okay."

** A shadow fell across me, and I glanced up, thinking, **_**helicopter!**_**But it wasn't – just a scattered flock of hawks above me, wheeling through the sky.**

** I frowned and angled myself upward. Several of the hawks were oddly large and misshapen. **Fang looked at Max. _"Large, and MISSHAPEN,"_ he said, deadly quiet. Max met him in the eye and without blinking said. "Yes. You were. In comparison to the hawks you are quite large and very misshapen." The onlookers laughed.**But they were flying right along with the others and seemed part of their flock. I squinted and focused, all the time gaining altitude.**

** My heart swelled – there were four way-too-big hawks, all right. Except hawks usually weren't quite as awkward as these four. **Again, Fang grimaced, but this time, Max spoke first. "Just get over it, already. You are not some Godly creature that does everything perfect!" Dr. Martinez, Ella and the flock laughed at the two communicating. **And hawks didn't usually wear sneakers.**

** They had waited for me, all right, and they were safe. Relief and joy flooded through my body and soul. Now we would go find Angel, and then the flock would be whole again.**

** And yes, I did say **_**soul. **__"_Why is it important that you did say soul?" Angel and Ella asked. Dr. Martinez looked thoughtful, but it was Max that answered. "The soul is the self, the "I" that inhabits the body and acts through it. Without the soul, the body is like a light bulb without electricity, a computer without the software, a space suit with no astronaut inside . . . Make sense?"

Angel and the others looked thoughtful. "I'm sure this topic will come up again, can we wait till then to answer any more questions?" Max asked.

Everyone nodded and Fang picked up the book. Ella wondered if he would pipe up again like he had this morning. She was still _really_ confused, but she just let it go.

**Chapter 50**

**They spotted me, and bright, goofy smiles lit the faces of the Gasman and Nudge.**

** Iggy of course didn't see me at all, **"I could hear you, I heard you coming at least." Iggy said looking affronted and Max just patted his head. **and Fang wasn't a big smiler. **At this Fang looked right at Ella and smiled a smile that was even bigger than the one he had this morning. Then he went right back to his expressionless face and continued to read, leaving Ella even more confused than Max had thought possible. **He caught my eye and motioned with his head, over toward a cliff. It had been only two days sins I'd seen him, but he seemed to be flying with a new grace and power, **"Why _thank you_ Max." Fang said only for her to hear and she smiled brightly at him. **his fourteen-foot wingspan glinting darkly in the sun. **Angel snickered as Fang thought, _At least they're not purple now._ **As we got closer, Nudge squealed happily, brushing her wing against mine. "Max! Max! I can't believe it! **_**Can**_** I believe it?" **Ella laughed at Nudge's behavior in the book. Nudge looked at her, "So what if I was having trouble believing it was Max? You would've done the same." Nudge smiled up at her practically adopted sister.

"I know," Ella said, "I had the same problem the first time she came back. It didn't help that she brought Fang with her that time, too."

Max chuckled. "I remember that time, wasn't that when I got my chip out?" The mood changed, but Max kept it light. "I felt like, since I'd found it again, I could always come back."

Doctor Martinez looked at Max and smiled, "You know, though you may have to go again, you're always, and I mean _**always**_ welcome here."

Fang took this as a signal to continue reading.

** Fang landed first, almost disappearing into nothing. **The flock chuckled at this. Pretty soon he would be able to completely dissolve into nothing. **It was only when I was about twenty feet from the cliff that I saw he had tucked into a shallow ledge scraped out of the cliff face. It was an excellent waiting place. **"An excellent place indeed," Iggy said.

"I wish I could see it," Ella said.

"Don't worry El," Iggy said, right before Max smacked him. "Ow! Sorry!" He said, rubbing his now sore shoulder. Ella was laughing.

"What were you about to say?" Max said threateningly.

"N-Nothing, Max."

** One after another, we flew in and landed, scurrying toward the back of the cave so others could come in after us. We were together. **"Almost," Max amended. **We five were safe, at least.**

** "Max!" Nudge cried, rushing over to hug me. Her thin arms gripped me tight, and I hugged her back, scratching her wings where they joined her shoulders, the way she liked. "We were so worried – I didn't know what had happened to you, and we didn't know what to do, and Fang said we were going to eat rats, and –" **At this Nudge smiled at Fang as he smiled at her. Max just looked at Fang. "I still can't belie- well actually, I take that back. I _can_ believe you suggested that." Fang's lips twitched, his version of a smile.

** "Okay, okay. Everything's okay," I told her. I met Fang's eyes over her shoulder and mouthed **_**Rats?**_** silently. A flicker of a grin crossed his lips and then was gone. I looked down into Nudge's big brown eyes. "I'm just so glad to see you safe," I told her. I turned to the Gasman and Iggy. "What are **_**you two **_**doing here? Why didn't you stay home?" **"Well wasn't that a nice, warm welcome." Ella said laughing. Her sister rolled her eyes.

** "We couldn't," the Gasman began earnestly. "There were Erasers all over the mountain. They were hunting for us. We'd be dog meat by now." **Doctor Martinez looked worried and relieved at the same time.

** "When did they start hunting for you?" I asked, startled. "Right after we left?" **"Ha!" Max started, "yeah, right."

** "No," said the Gasman slowly. He slanted a glance at Iggy, who was standing impassively, brushing dust he couldn't see of his dark pants.**

** "What?" I said, suspicion starting to rise in me. "When did they start coming after you?"**

** "Was it – was it after the oil-slick Hummer crash?" the Gasman asked Iggy tentatively.**

** My eyes widened. **_**Oil-slick Hummer crash? **_The Gasman and Iggy were laughing at their accomplished feat.

** Iggy rubbed his chin, thinking.**

** "Or maybe it was more – after the bomb," the Gasman said in a low voice, looking down. **

** "I think it was the bomb," Iggy agreed. "That definitely seemed to tick them off." **"Now that," Iggy said, "was pure brilliance," still laughing, he high-fived the Gasman.

** "Bomb?" I asked incredulously. "**_**Bomb?**_** You guys set off a**_** bomb?**_** Didn't that tell the Erasers exactly where you were? You should have stayed hidden!" **

** "They already knew where we were," the Gasman explained. "They'd seen all of us – they knew we were in the area."**

** "It was just a matter of time," Iggy agreed.** "It's not often the younger one is the leader of the crew," Ella said to Gazzy's delight and to Iggy's dismay. She laughed at the expressions on both of their faces. Along with Fang surprisingly, she stopped laughing as soon as she caught Fang's eye. _I am SOO beyond confused!_ She thought to herself, throwing her head in her hands. Angel got up and crossed over to her. "It's okay," she said in her sweet 8 year old voice. "You'll figure it out. . .sooner or later. . ."

Max and Dr. Martinez laughed.

** I didn't know what to say. To tell you the truth, I hadn't actually considered the fact that the Erasers might find our house. I opened my mouth and closed it again, at a loss. Maybe in about twenty years I would get the hang of dealing with boys. **"How's that workin for you, two years later?" Max's mother asked. Max just looked at her and said, "Just threaten to take away Fang's computer-" "Hey!" "Ig's color-flip book and bomb supplies," "Now that's just cruel" "and threaten to lock Gazzy in the closet." Fang resumed reading with a disgruntled voice in hopes that the giggling girls would shut their great pie holes. **And maybe not. **

** "Well, I'm glad you're safe," I said lamely, and heard Fang trying to smother his laughter. I ignored him. "You were right to come here. Smart thinking. Excellent."**

** I hugged the Gasman, then Iggy, who was almost five inches taller than I am, I realized. I hugged Nudge again, and she clung to me as I stroked her hair. "It's okay, sweetie," I said softly.**

** Finally, she let me go and I reached out to hug Fang. **At this, Fang frowned and Max laughed as he read the next part, ignoring the death glares he was giving her. **Fang is not the huggiest person in the world – he turns into an unbending statue, and you just have to do the best you can. Which I did.**

** Then I held my left hand out in a fist, and the other four instantly stacked their left fists on top of it. We each tapped the other's hands twice, then threw our arms up in the air.**

** "To Angel!" I yelled, and their voices echoed mine.**

** "To Angel! To Angel!"**

** Then, one by one, we fell off the side of the cliff, **"You say one word," Max said, pointlessly pointing her finger at Iggy who had just opened his mouth as if to say something.

"Okay!" He said, crossing his arms. "Fine then, be that way!"

Max shook her head hopelessly. **opened our wings, and headed for the hated, dreaded School. **Fang handed the book to Nudge and got up for a drink of water.

Nudge picked up the book eagerly and waited, practically bouncing in her seat, for Fang to come back.

**Chapter 51 **she read.

"**Okay," I said, once we were high, flying with a steady rhythm. "How about some quick reports?"**

** "I tried to find my mom," Nudge said with no warning.** "Cue Max's parental curiosity, center stage," Iggy said laughing.

Max crossed her arms, "You know you were curious too."

Iggy shrugged. Max slapped his arm, then motioned for Nudge to continue reading as Iggy commenced to rubbing his now sore arm.

** "Whaaat?" My eyes went as wide as they could go. "Your **_**mom?**_**"**

** Nudge shrugged. "I made Fang go down to Tipisco while we were waiting for you. We found the right address. I saw a woman, and she was my kind of color, but I wasn't sure. Then the Erasers, including that dirtbag Ari, showed up, so we kicked butt and left."**

** It took me a minute to digest this. "So you didn't talk to her? Umm, your mom?"**

** "No." Nudge carefully examined her fingernails, keeping her wings moving steadily.**

** "Did she look nice?" **"Let me guess," Ella said, "Fang was completely silent and Max continued to try and drag questions out of Nudge?" Max looked at her sister with a look that was as blank as Fang was for over half the time. Ella was expecting Fang to do something out of the ordinary again, however, Fang just stared at Max with a blank expression that Max seemed to be able to read by simply feeling.

She looked at him, he looked out the window, she looked nudged his foot, he sighed quietly, Max looked at Nudge.

"Are you guys done yet?" Gazzy and Iggy asked irritably. Doctor Martinez and Ella were laughing along with Angel. Max and Fang quickly looked at each other, rolled their eyes simultaneously and nodded at the same time. Gazzy groaned and begged Nudge to read. **I was consumed with curiosity. Parents were something we all obsessed about, talked about constantly, cried about – if truth be told. **Angel sniffed and moved closer to Max, feeling Max's call in her head.

** "I'll tell you about it later," Nudge said offhandedly, so I knew it had gone badly. **"You could say that," Nudge muttered.

** I narrowed my eyes at Gazzy and Iggy. "We know what **_**you've**_** been up to," I said. Gazzy gave me his sweet, abashed smile. **Max's mom laughed. "Tough, isn't it?" Max looked at her.

"You have no idea with this one," Max told her. **That kid.**

** Time for news of my own. **"Prepare for bombshell in 3, 2, 1," Iggy said.

** "I think I have a tracer chip implanted in me," I said baldly, feeling a coaster current in my face. I angled my wings and glided. "I'm not positive, but it showed up on an X-ray, and that's what it looked like."**

** Jaws dropped. Everyone stared at me in horror. **"Why?" Ella asked, confused.

Max looked at her blankly, "X-ray's meant human interaction; human interaction during that time in our life was a very, _**very**_ bad thing; Human interaction needing an X-ray would mean one of us was seriously hurt."

Ella looked at her feet, "Right," she said quietly.

** "You had an X-ray?" Fang looked incredulous. **

** I nodded. "Details later. If I do have this chip, it explains all the Erasers everywhere **"Not quite." Fang said, only for Max, and Iggy of course, to hear. **– but not why it's taken them four years to hunt us down. And I don't know if any of you have one," I added, seeing the question on Iggy's face. **Doctor Martinez looked thoughtful, "maybe we should get that checked out. What do you think, Max, Fang?"

Max and Fang's eyes narrowed, took one look into each other's eyes and looked back to Doctor Martinez. "We'll let you know," they said simultaneously.

** Everyone was quiet, flying with their thoughts and fears.**

** Then, "Max? Do you think there's still a chance?" **"How could you even ask that?" Angel asked her brother, incredulous. Her brother's eyes widened as he took in her carefully composed expression. He looked down at his sneakers and Angel got up from between Max and went to sit with her big brother. She looked him straight in the eye and they both nodded.

"you can read again, Nudge," Angel said, holding the Gasman's hand. **The Gasman was forcing himself to be strong. Another reason I like that kid.**

** "I don't know. I hope so," I said honestly. Honesty is always good, except when it's better to lie. **Doctor Martinez looked at her elder daughter and Maximum Ride shifted in her seat. "It's true," She said sheepishly, motioning Nudge to continue. **Like to protect them. **Doctor Martinez sighed, "I guess I can see that." **"I know I've delayed us by two days. I'm really sorry about that. I just did what I felt I had to do. But we've come this far – there's no turning back. We're going after Angel, no matter what."**

** There were a few moments of silence, as if we were all gathering our courage again. I know I was, trying to pull my strength into a tight, hard ball that would carry me through the rest of the day, as we headed to our worst nightmare.**

_**Anybody's**_** worst nightmare, believe me. **"That's the chapter," Nudge said, passing the book to the Gasman. He took the book in his hands and started the next chapter.

**AN: **

**Sorry bout the long wait guys, I'm like, really _really _sorry. But my classes are over for the semester *Shocker, huh?* and so I'll see if I can't get through to part 4 before the end of the month. Hows that sound?**

Another thing that prevented me from updating was NaNoWriMo, something I'd never even heard of until this year and thought to give it a shot. For those of you who are in the know, skip the paragraph :P For those of you who don't...well NaNo is National Novel Writing Month. It's where people all over the country sit down and write a 50,000 word story in 30 days. and well. I kind of failed. I got to Nine thousand Three hundred something words and then I had to stop due to school stuff. BUT. It's still in progress and I do intend on finishing it.

**So let me know how you think the chapter was, and how your Thanksgiving was! Who else want's Epic Mickey for Christmas? I know I do. :D **

**Until next time,**

**Fly On!**

**~Jezebel Raewin**


	27. Chapter's 52, 53, & 54

**AN: Okay guys, You know the drill. I don't own Maximum Ride. *sigh* I've got more to tell, but I'll let you read this first ;) So without much more worrying you to heaven, here's chapter twenty-seven! **

**Chapter 52 **It was strange, seeing Gazzy's lips move, but hearing my voice come out of his mouth.

**I don't think I've mentioned this, **"How many times that's said in these books do you think?" Fang said, just for me to hear. I looked at him and shrugged, "I don't know, there's a lot about us….and I couldn't be sure of what I had said and what I hadn't." **but all of us in the flock have an inborn sense of direction. I don't know how it works. **Angel, Nudge, Total and I started laughing uncontrollably. After a couple really confused glances, I was forced to sober up and explain. "Remember when we were in Germany? When Angel, Nudge, Total and Ari and I were in the Itex Castle? They had tak-"

"You know, I'm pretty sure we'll hear that in one of the books soon enough, can we just read this one?" Fang asked. I looked at him and said, "Fine, we'll wait." But I was just barely holding in my laughter.

**We just always know which way we're going. So we rocketed west-northwest for a good two hours. Many of the hawks whose cliff Fang and Nudge had shared stayed with us, flying in loose formation. Our new best pals. **"I wish I could've flown with them, maybe I could have talked to them," Angel said, then sighed. "Oh, well."

** "We learned some stuff from the hawks," Fang said, seeing me watch them. "Some banking moves, how they communicate, stuff like that."**

** "They're really cool," Nudge added, flying closer to me. "They, like, use the tips of their feathers to help aim them, and we tried it, and it was amazing. A little thing like that makes such a difference. Like, I practically didn't even know I could move those feathers." **Ella and Mom laughed at Nudge's little expansion on Fang's miniature explanation.

** "Can you teach us what you learned?" I asked.**

** "Yeah, sure," said Fang.**

** We ate our last granola bars in midair. We flew over desert, mountains, rivers, scrubby plains. **"No looking down, right?" Ella asked and I nodded, "Only when I had to."**I only looked down when I had to, and forced myself not to think about Ella or her mom, who I missed like a real mom. **"We missed you too, Max." Mom said softly.

** I watched the hawks, imitating their moves, banking, tailing, soaring, diving – all the things they were doing, **"Everything, huh?" Ella asked. I smirked. **minus the dead rodents. I was exhilarated to be included among those fierce, awesome birds. **We'll have to go visit our friends for awhile after this, so we can brush up again. **When they split away from us at the edge of their territory, I was sad to see them go. **Fang sighed and looked up at the ceiling, Ella watched curiously, it was obvious she was trying to calculate how much longer this was going to last. Inwardly I cackled manically. Our plan was working magnificently.

** Just as I was starting to feel shaky from lack of sugar, **"How long does that take?" Mom asked, curiosity taking over. I smiled up at her from my place on the floor. "It depends," I told her. "If we're putting on our serious speeds then it takes about 5 hours for me, Ig and Fang. The younger guys about 3 and a half hours." She nodded. "But when we're just taking our time, we can go a little farther. But we still need lots of food."

"Obviously." Gazzy said, picking up

**our markers came into view. Signaling to the others, I headed downward, aiming for a small wood on the backside of a foothill.**

** It was a pretty unpopulated area, and I couldn't see much activity, except for a strip mall about a mile away.**

** We landed and looked around. I rubbed my aching shoulder. **"You didn't push it too hard did you?" Mom worried. I rolled my eyes. "No, mom. It's okay."

"Besides," Fang butted in, "I would of got on her case about it if she had." Mom smiled at him, knowing he would take care of me. **"Okay, we need food. And a street map wouldn't be the worst idea in the world." **"You didn't know where you were going?" Ella asked.

I shook my head. "We knew the general area, it's not like we were heading in to uncharted waters."

"Although," Nudge said, trying to hide a smirk. "Maybe a map would have helped…" she and the Gasman reduced into giggles then winced as I glared at them.

Mom looked up, "But would it have even shown up the map?"

"No." Fang said, then looking to the two younger ones added, "and it wouldn't have helped as much as you think." Nudge sighed and Gazzy continued reading.

** "The school isn't going to show up on any map," Fang said. **

** "I know. But we know pretty much where it is – there'll be a blank space on the map, but it would still help us to find roads to get there," I said.**

** Fifteen minutes of hiking brought us to the back of the strip mall. It was a decent-sized place, with a dollar store, gas station, a freestanding bank machine, dry cleaner, and a beauty salon. No food, except at the gas station store. **

** "Need to get your hair done?" Fang asked, and I elbowed him. Like I'd ever had my hair done in my life. Mostly I whacked it shorter with the kitchen scissors when it got too annoying. **"Really?" Mom and Ella said in unison. "That's all you did?"

I shrugged; a girl's gotta do what she can with what she's got. And then, it was kitchen scissors.

** "Well, what now?" the Gasman asked. "Should we keep going?" **

** "Let me think," I muttered, looking the mall up and down. Hitchhiking was out of the question – we'd end up murdered in a ditch or something. **Mom shuddered. **It was at least ten miles to the School. We could fly it, but I didn't want to approach from the air. So we'd have to walk, but it would take a while, and we were already hungry. **"First things first, you should get some food." Ella said, but then her face fell. "You didn't have any money on you did you?" Fang shook his head and slid a finger from his eye to his chin, as if he were crying.

"No, we didn't."

"But what about your card? Your Max Ride card?" She asked, I shrugged.

"Hadn't gotten it yet."

"So basically," she said, "you're screwed."

My flock laughed while mom and Ella smirked. I smiled at her from my seat. "Don't worry about it, El. You know we get it worked out in the end!" She sighed and crossed her arms.

** "Okay," I said finally. "Looks like we'll have to –"**

** I was interrupted by the squeal of a car pulling in. Without speaking, we drew back into a clump of bushes by the side of the building. A fancy gray car with a silver hood ornament roared up by the little bank machine.** "He's a jerk." Ella said.

** The window opened, and loud music spilled out. A slick-looking guy leaned toward the machine, a cell phone up to his ear.**

** "Shut up, you idiot!" he was saying. "If you hadn't lost your card, I wouldn't need cash!" **"Yup." Ella said.

** The man stuck his arm out and pushed his card into the machine. Quickly, he punched in his code, then waited. "That's what I get for trusting you with anything!" he snapped into the phone. "You can't handle getting dressed in the morning!" **"That was uncalled for," mom said, angrily.

** "Jerk," Nudge whispered to me. I nodded.**

** Like magic, **"Had you never seen an ATM before?" Ella said, laughing. I shook my head at her behavior. So what if I hadn't, it was pretty cool.** the machine spit some green bills through a slit, and the man snatched them and started counting. The next moment, a big black pickup truck screeched into the parking lot, way close to the fancy car. It's rear tires spun and spit rocks, and we could hear little pinging noises as they hit the cushmobile. **"He's not gonna like that!"

** We shrank farther into the woods. Goose bumps rose on my arms, and my breath caught in my throat. Erasers? The chip I had. Should I run now, getting the Erasers to follow me and leave the flock alone? **Fang glared at me. "That would never have worked and you know it." I shrugged, "I do now."

** "He's going to go ballistic," Fang predicted quietly.**

** Veins practically popping out of his neck, the jerk leaned out his window and yelled a bunch of swear words, including a new one I tucked away in my brain for future use, if necessary.**

** The darkened window of the pickup rolled down, and I inhaled silently.**

** "What'd you say dipstick?" Ari asked with a creepy smile. **With that, Gazzy handed the book over to Angel who was snickering whilst looking at Fang. Fang narrowed his eyes at her and raised an eyebrow. I could tell he wanted her to read on, but she was getting a more direct command from the master of silent-speak himself.

**Chapter 53. **Angel read.

**I swallowed hard, my muscles tightening. I put my hand on Gazzy's shoulder. "Shhh. Shhhh." **Fang poked me. I shook him off.

** The jerk in the gray car's eyes bugged out, and the next thing we knew, he had stomped on his gas pedal. His car leaped forward. **Fang poked me again. I shook it off. Again.

** Ari laughed like a maniac, and the black pickup peeled out too, spraying gravel. Five heartbeats later, we could barely hear the roar of the two engines racing down the road. **He poked me yet _again_ and this time I glared at him. _WHAT?_ **Look.**_At what, may I ask? _**Just look over there.**_Fine._ So I looked over toward the stairway and fell over on top of Fang.

Midway up the stairs, Total was sitting on his hind paws, back facing toward us, fur poofed out around him like some twisted version of a poodle. At the top of the stairs was Magnolia, with her brown and white beagle fur smoothed down. Total was barking. Like, actually _barking_, at Magnolia. Then, Magnolia started to bark back. Total turned down the stairs and headed straight toward me. I was watching with a mouth wide open and eyes to match.

Total waltzed right up to me and opened his furry muzzle. "Maximum Ride," he began, in a huffy voice. "I have a complaint to make." I put my head in my hands for a moment then looked at him.

"Look, Total," I told him before he could go farther. "Can't this wait? We're in the middle of something. Why don't you write it down and I'll look at it at lunch, okay?" I had a feeling this was about Magnolia getting more privileges than Total, but I honestly couldn't believe Total had a row with her, let alone a barking one.

He huffed again. "fine," he said, "I'll wait till Lunch." And marched his furry butt over to Angel's lap where she petted his fur and rubbed his wings as she continued to read. Ella laughed worriedly as she took in the whole scene.

** "He gets around," said Fang quietly. **

** "Was Ari's hair **_**green?**_**" I asked, confused.**

** "Yep," Nudge said, unusually brief. **"Wow." Ella said. "You only said one word?" Nudge nodded and Angel continued.

** The five of us looked at one another – well, not Iggy, so much – then at the ATM.**

** It was beeping quietly. We glanced around. There were people inside the stores, but the machine faced away from them. Without saying a word, we dropped low and slipped across the parking lot.**

** None of us had ever used one of these. For some strange reason, the mad scientists at the School had neglected to set up bank accounts and trust funds for us. **"Don't worry, Max," mom said. "It's not hard to figure out."

** Fortunately, the machine was designed to be used by idiots.**

_**Do you want to make another transaction?**_** It asked in orange letters.**

** "Get cash," **"You think?" Nudge and Ella said together. **Fang advised unnecessarily.**

** "You think?" I said snidely.**

** "Hurry," the Gasman said.**

** I hit the withdrawal button.**

_**Please enter the amount you wish to withdraw.**_

** I hesitated. "Sixty dollars?" That would buy a lot of food, right? **"Yeah, but the way you go through it, I'm not sure it would be enough." Mom said. Ella nodded. "Besides, He was a total jerk, drain his account!" Fang and I laughed.

** "He was a total jerk," said Fang. "Take him for all he's got." **Ella smiled. "Great minds think alike!"

** I grinned. "You are **_**evil**_**. I like that." I worked my way through the account balances, and we all stared and whistled.**

** "Oh, yeah, oh, yeah," Nudge sang, doing a little dance. "We're ri-ich, we're gonna buy a ca-ar, oh, yeah." **Laughter commenced.

** You might not know this, but ATMs have a built-in limit of how much dough they're willing to give you at one time. So our plans to buy our own country crumbled. **"That would have been _awesome_,"the Gasman and Angel said in unison. **However, it was willing to give me two hundred bucks. **

** Once we punched in our access code again, for security purposes. **"Crap." Ella said, "I hadn't thought of that."

** "Oh, no," I groaned. "Did anyone see it?"**

** "I **_**heard **_**it," said Iggy slowly. **"Igmister to the rescue," Fang said and Iggy sheepishly looked at the floor.

** "I think if we put in the wrong code more than twice, the whole thing shuts down and swallows the card," said Fang. **"What I want to know is," I said, "how did you know that?"

** "Can you do it?" I asked Iggy.**

** "Um, I'll try . . ." Iggy hesitantly put his hand over the keypad. His sensitive fingers oriented themselves to the keys. **

** "It's okay, Ig," said Fang. "Just give it your best shot." Sometimes the Fangster is incredibly supportive, just not with me. **"Now," Fang said, "That's not true."

I looked at him, "Now, yeah It's not true, but back then….?"

He took a second, stared out the window and finally sighed. "I'm sorry." He said. I grabbed his hand,

"It's okay."

** Iggy punched in five numbers, and we all held our breath.**

_**Access denied. **_"Darn it." Ella said. _**Please check your PIN and try again.**_

** "Try again," I said tensely. "You've got the best ears on the planet." **"'T's true." Iggy said.

** Once again, Iggy's pale hand hovered over the keyboard. He concentrated and punched in five numbers.**

** Nothing. My heart sank down into my stomach.** "Perfect!" Ella and mom said together. "Good, you did get money." Mom said at the same time Ella said, "Don't forget to grab the card!"

** Then the machine started whirring, and soon a stack of twenties shot out.**

** "Yes!" said Fang, punching the air. "Freaks rule."**

** "Grab it and go!" I said as Nudge began pulling out bills and stuffing them into her pockets. We were turning to run when the machine beeped again. **"Yes! Get the card!" Ella said. I shook my head, "We got it, Ella, we got it."

_**Thank you for your business. Please take your card.**_

** "Okay, thank **_**you**_**," I said, grabbing the card. Then we ran back to the woods. Well, we ran **_**and **_**flew.**

Angel handed the book to mom.

**Chapter 54**

** For some reason, I didn't feel too bad about taking that guy's money. Maybe because he seemed like such a jerk. We were like his karma getting back at him. **"Really, now?" Iggy asked.

** I don't know. I do know that I wouldn't have stolen even a jar of peanut butter from Ella and her mom. **_**Never. Nothing.**_ "It's good to know we'll never have to lock our cabinets when you're around." Ella said smiling. I smiled right back at them. "It's true."

** "Too bad we couldn't get more," Fang said, counting the money.**

** "Let's go back to the gas station and buy a bunch of food," Nudge urged. **"That's not a good idea." Mom said. "You might've already be spotted."

** I shook my head. "People there may have already seen us. We've got to get out of here."**I smiled up at my mother.

** While we'd hidden in the woods, a red van had pulled up behind one of the stores. A young guy had unloaded some stuff from the back of it, then headed inside. Before the door swung shut, we saw him punch a time card.**

** So he was at work for at least a couple hours, till his first break. **"No freaking way," Ella said. "You guys stole a car?" Her voice pierced through a few octaves.

I examined my fingernails. "Maybe," I told her. "Now let mom read, please?" She smiled and signaled to mom to continue reading. "Besides, it wasn't that great." I muttered as Angel laughed warily, Iggy and Gazzy winced, and Nudge and Fang shuddered.

** And there was his van, just sitting there.**

** Fang and I looked at each other.**

** "Money from a jerk is one thing," I said. "A car from just a guy is something else."**

** "We'd only need to borrow it for a few hours," Fang said. "We could leave him some money as a rental fee."**

** "Are we stealing that car?" the Gasman asked. "Let's."**

** I frowned. "No. We're sort of **_**thinking**_** about **_**borrowing**_** it." **"That's still stealing, Max." Angel said. "Even I know that." **On the one hand, I really didn't want to become a teenage criminal. On the other hand, every minute that ticked by was another minute closer to Angel's being the number one dissection lesson for a bunch of rabid geneticists.** "Reality check brought to you by Maximum Ride." Gazzy said in an announcer's voice. I glared at him.

** "That's like Grand Theft Auto," the Gasman said helpfully. "I saw it on TV. It's popular with kids."**

** "Better 'borrow' it soon," advised Iggy. "I hear a chopper."**

** I made an executive decision. And yeah, I know – **_**my**_** karma's going to come back get **_**me**_**, too. **"What do you think was your karma getting back at you, Max?" Angel asked innocently.

I thought for a minute, shared a glance with Fang and said, "You'll see."

** In movies, people always "borrow" cars by yanking some wires out from under the dash and connecting them. But the real way it works involves a screwdriver and the starter thingy, under the hood. **"Really?" Ella said, "Do tell." Mom silenced her with a glance. "Not in my house." She said. **My personal ethics prevent me from giving you more information. That'd be just what I need: a rash of car thefts across America, committed by dedicated readers. **"That would have been great!" Iggy said laughing. I smacked him upside the head and sighed. "Where did I go wrong?" I asked myself. Fang rubbed my back. "We tried." He said and I snorted. "He's the same age as us, It's not like we're his parents."

** I don't think so.**

** Anyway, I did the engine thing while Iggy sat in the driver's seat, pressing the gas. **"Closest I ever got to driving it," He muttered. **The motor grumbled into life, I slammed the hood, and we jumped into the van. My heart was pounding at about two hundred beats a minute.**

** Then I just stared at the controls. **Ella laughed and mom chuckled warily. "You don't know how to drive do you?" Mom asked.

"That was the one thing Jeb never taught me to do." I told her.

** "Oh, my God," said Fang. "None of us has ever driven."**

** It wasn't like him to have missed this important detail. **Angel and Nudge snickered. "What?" Fang asked.

"Do you want some ice Fang?" Nudge asked.

"No. Why would I want ice?"

"'cause you just got _burned!_" Angel said finishing her pun.

** "I've seen people drive on TV," I said, trying to sound confident. "How hard could it be?" **Ella started laughing. I put my head in my hands. **I knew about the whole neutral, park, drive thing, so I put it into **_**D**_**.**

** "Okay, guys," I said. "Here goes nothing."**

"Um, Max?" Ella asked.

"Huh?"

"What about the Parking Brake?"

Fang and Iggy snickered.

"Shut up, the both of you," I looked at Ella. "Let's just say it took me a while to notice. You can read now."

**An:**

**Sooo Here's to a new year, huh? **

**How was your Christmas? New Years? Everyone stay safe and have an awesome break? I know mine was pretty spectacular, but I wish I could have had this up sooner.**

**I don't know, this chapter just didn't want to come. I don't know why, but it took me forever, as you guys I'm sure are aware of. Either way. I posted! :D **

**I have through chapter 66 in AE typed up, I just gotta add commentary. Which I hope to get a lot of done next week whilst on a 14 hour road trip. (long story short, my sister's that far away and we're going to pick her up.) **

**So hopefully you'll be hearing from me a lot sooner! **

**I have one special review request and lets see who can fill it, shall we? Who know's what this is from:**

Let me get this straight. You know her. She knows you. But she wants to eat him. And everybody's okay with this?  
DID I MISS SOMETHING?

**What's the prize? The first 3 reviewers to get it right will get a sample of the next chapter. Sound good? **

**Okie Doke guys.**

**Fly on!**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	28. Chapter's 55, 56, & 57

Ella smiled and started to read the next chapter. **Chapter 55**

**You might not know this, **Ella started to laugh. **but cars have a separate parking brake, **And so did the rest of the room. "Ha, ha." Max said. "It's _so _hilarious." **not just the foot pedal one. That brake is often not immediately obvious to the naked eye. **The room was filled with Laughter coming from Angel, Gazzy, Iggy, Ella, Doctor Martinez, and even a few chuckles from Fang.

** Attempting to drive a car before you find and release the parking brake is like trying to drag a Saint Bernard into a bathtub. But enough on that. **"How do you know what dragging a Saint Bernard into a bathtub is like?" Dr. M said. "Not that I disagree, but even so." Max shrugged.

** "Okay, okay, we're doing okay," I said twenty minutes later, after I finally found and released the parking brake. I felt like I was at the helm of a huge, clumsy runaway elephant. **"Vans aren't that great to drive, but at least they have enough seats." Dr. Martinez said. Max shuddered. "They're worse than 'not that great.'"

** I was sweating and about to jump out of my skin with anxiety about driving, but I tried to look way confident and calm. **The Gasman smirked, "It didn't really work."

Iggy said, "Um, Sorry to let you know Max, but we were all pretty stressed," Fang smacked him before he could go farther. **"I mean, it's not as good as flying, but it beats the heck out of walking!" **"That's your chosen word of comfort?" Ella asked snickering. "Just _read_, Ells." Her flustered sister said.

** I smiled bravely over at Fang to see him giving me a steady look. "What?"**

** "Could you take it easy on the hairpin turns?" he said. **Doctor Martinez and Ella couldn't help but burst out laughing.

** "I'm getting better," I said. "I just had to practice."**

** "I didn't know a van could go up on two wheels like that," **Ella could barely say the line without laughing. **Nudge said. "For so **_**long**_**." **And Now Angel joined in the laughter. Fang snickered. Max smacked him.

** "I don't want to barf in a borrowed car," the Gasman said. **The laughter just got even louder and Max got up for a glass of water.

** I pressed my lips together and focused on the road. Ingrates. "We need to turn east in about five hundred yards," I muttered, peering out the van window. **"How do you know there will be a road there, Max?" Her mom asked as Max stared back from the kitchen. Ella snickered, "Hold on, mom, I can answer that one."

** A half mile later, I pulled over and rested my head against the steering wheel. "Where the heck is the **_**road?**_**" **"See, no road." Ella said, her tone finally sobering up as she realized how close they were. ** I bellowed in frustration. "There's no freaking **_**road**_** there!" **"You were only going by your own senses. It's not like you could have found it on a map or anything." Doctor Martinez said soothingly. Max rolled her eyes. "Maybe you should get a map?" she continued. "And maybe some more food, keep your strength up." Fang smirked at Max.

** "You're going by your own directional senses," Fang pointed out.**

** "And there can't be roads everywhere you **_**feel**_** like there should be a road," Iggy added reasonably. **"Wow," Ella said, "you _can_ use your common sense." She laughed and nudged his leg. "Ha, ha. Very funny" He said.

** I wanted to smack them both.**

** Sighing, I pulled out onto the turnoff-less road and did a U-ey.**

** "I'll just have to take a less efficient route," I said. I hated the sense of time ticking by, of not knowing whether Angel was still alive. And worse, I hated knowing I was getting closer and closer to the School, where everything bad that had ever happened to us had taken place. It felt like I was driving toward certain death, and it was hard to make myself do that. **"Yeah, um…" Ella started, "I can't really sympathize with you, but that must have been hard."

Angel, Nudge and Max chuckled a bit. But not much. "Honestly, Ell, I've had to do things even harder than this. This, right here, though, is where it began."

** "Argh!" After yet another unexpected turn that led us away from where we should have been going, I pulled over again and punched the steering wheel several times. Every one of my muscles was tense from driving and worry. I had a bad headache. **"Again with the headaches," Ella said, "What's wrong with you, Max?" Iggy coughed. "A lot." He said. Max smacked him a little harder than normal. **Lately, I'd been having a lot of headaches. Gee, I wonder why?**

** "It's okay, Max," the Gasman said anxiously. **Max smiled at the Gasman and he beamed up at her through those ocean blue eyes.

** "Is she hitting the steering wheel?" Iggy asked. **Doctor Martinez chuckled along with Ella.

** "Look," said Fang, pointing to a sign. "There's a town up ahead. Let's go there, get something to eat, and find an actual map. 'Cause this wandering thing ain't workin'." **Doctor Martinez smiled, knowing that she would listen.

** Bennett was a small, almost cute town. I sat up tall in the driver's seat and frowned, trying to look older. **"Yeah, cause frowning _totally_ makes you look older," Iggy said and Nudge laughed with Ella, Angel and Gazzer. **There were several places to eat, I turned into a parking lot slowly and then oh-so-carefully edged the van toward the back of the lot, away from everyone else.**

** I turned off the engine, and Nudge and Gazzy sprang for the door. "We're alive!" yelled the Gasman.**

** "**_**Wait!**_**" I told them. "Look, we're really close to the School. This might **_**feel**_** like the middle of nowhere, but really, Erasers could be anywhere and any**_**one**_**. You know that. So we have to be careful." **"Oh snap," Ella said, "You get caught, don't you. That's how you get in. You get caught." She frowned and read on with a little less bounce in her voice.

Maximum laughed, "Don't worry Ella," she said, "we don't get caught yet."

Ella murmured "_'yet'_ she says, _yet._"

** "We have to eat," Nudge said, trying not to whine. It was hard on her – she seemed to burn through calories faster than anyone, except maybe the Gasman. **She and the Gasman looked at each other and shrugged.

** "I know, Nudge," I said gently. "We're going to. I'm just saying be really careful. Be on guard, and be ready to run, okay? **_**Anybody we see could be an Eraser.**_**" **"Well that's comforting." Ella muttered and Max chuckled.

** They nodded. I flipped down the visor so I could check myself in the mirror, and something small and heavy dropped into my lap. **Doctor Martinez winced worriedly.

** I froze, my breath stuck in my throat. **_**What –?**_

** Gingerly, I looked down. It wasn't a grenade. **Doctor Martinez and Ella let out a breath they didn't know they were holding. **It was a key ring. One key was for this van. I looked at it blankly. **"You mean," Ella said through her smile, "that you could have just used the key?"

** "Well, that'll simplify things," Fang said.**

Ella Martinez handed the book to her mother and sighed.

"What?" her half sister asked.

"I know you must go back, but it seems so awful and I just don't know how you make it out alive _every time!_ Or how you do get back. I mean, come on, it's got to be some dastardly plan of the School or something. I bet you don't even get there like you planned to. You probably end up crashing the car for all I know, and Erasers drop out of nowhere!" Her half sister let her finish her rant quietly.

"First of all, El," Max said, "You've been spending way too much time with Nudge. Second, You'll just have to wait on see how we rescue Angel, and thirdly, it hurts that you have that little faith in my driving skills!" she finished sounding wounded but laughed at her sisters smirk.

Doctor Valencia Martinez started to read the next chapter. **Chapter 56**

"**I want my room to smell just like this," Iggy inhaled deeply as the scents of flame-broiled burgers and hot french fries wafted around us. **"Not here." She said, "I've been lucky to keep it smelling as fresh as it does now anyway." Iggy smiled at her.

** "It would be an improvement," **"That's an improvement?" Ella asked, shocked. "I don't even want to know what it smelled like back then."

Max shuddered, "It smelt like ashes and bomb supplies, mixed with your average guy smell." "Totally disgusting," Max and her sister said in complete agreement. **I agreed, reading the menu board. My stomach felt like it was trying to digest itself. I was shaky with tension and adrenaline, and felt like I was going to come apart at the seams. **Dr. Martinez chuckled, "That sounds like Ella at Final Exam time." "Hey!" Ella said, smirking at her mother.

** The fast-food restaurant was crowded and jarringly noisy. All of us felt nervous when we were around regular people. We shuffled into line, trying to be inconspicuous. As far as I could tell, no one here was an Eraser.**

** But of course Erasers looked pretty normal – until they started morphing and tried to bite your freaking head off.**

** "I don't eat meat anymore," Nudge announced. At my uncomprehending stare, she said, "Not after seeing the hawks go through rabbits and snakes and other birds. It's just icky." **Ella shuddered, "I don't think I could either after that…but you eat meat now…"

"I got over it…Bacon smelled way too good." Nudge said laughing.

** Fang stepped up and ordered three double cheeseburgers, a chocolate shake, a soda with caffeine **_**and**_** sugar, three fries, three apple pies. **"That's less than you ordered last time," Ella noted. Fang shrugged.

"I've grown." He said simply.

** "Feeding a crowd?" the woman behind the counter asked.**

** "Yes ma'am," Fang said sweetly.**

_**Yeah, him and all his split personalities, **_**I thought. **Everyone laughed.** I turned back to Nudge.**

** "Okay," I said, reaching **_**deep**_** into my well of leaderly patience. **"Which we all know how deep that well goes," Iggy said, and Max smacked him upside the head twice."

"Hey!" he argued, "what was the second time for?"

"You don't want me to say it out loud, do you?" Max said threateningly. He paled just a fractional amount, but it was enough for the Flock to see and they laughed as their imaginations wandered to try to find out what _exactly_ it was that Iggy was worried about. Angel was rolling on the floor because of what everyone was thinking.

"I thought so." Max smirked and settled back on the floor.

"**But you still need lots of protein."**

** Iggy ordered the same thing as Fang, and I paid for him. Fang waited for him to get his food and unobtrusively led him to the most private booth.**

** "Um, let's see," I said, stepping up. "Could I have two fried-chicken sandwiches, two double cheeseburgers, four fries, six apple pies, two vanilla shakes, one strawberry shake, and then two triple cheeseburgers, only hold the hamburger?" **"That's ridiculous." Ella said, "I mean, I know you've been around for a while but still. I don't think I'll ever get used to how much you guys eat."

** "You mean, just cheese on the bun? No meat?" **"I think there was only one other time that we had to order it like that." Fang muttered. Max looked at him, "I mean you, of course, but really, it didn't take long for her to go back to eating like a normal mutant bird kid." Max and Fang chuckled as the rest of the room waited for their conversation to end.

** "Yes. That would be great." I looked over at Nudge, who nodded.**

** I was about to faint from hunger, and smelling all the food was killing me. Standing beside me, the Gasman was shifting from foot to foot, looking eager. It seemed like a lifetime before we got our three loaded trays, paid, and joined Fang and Iggy in the back.**

** Another glance around showed happy families, kids blowing straw wrappers, women talking together, teens hanging out. I sat down warily, and Nudge slid in next to me. The Gasman squeezed in next to her.**

** Am I tough? Am I strong? Am I hard-core? Absolutely.**

** Did I whimper with pathetic delight when I sank my teeth into my hot fried-chicken sandwich? **"Of course." **You betcha.**

** Nudge was tearing into her cheese bun things, Fang was on his second burger, Iggy could hardly breathe through all the food in his mouth, and the Gasman was wolfing fries by the fistful. We probably looked like starving orphan children. Hey! We **_**were**_** starving orphan children. **"Glad we don't wait so long to eat nowadays." Gazzy said as he grabbed a bag of chips.** For several minutes all you could hear were disgusting chomping noises. I had a sudden flashback to the fun, civilized meals with Ella and her mom, where we used napkins and good manners and talked about normal things. **"Awe," Ella said, "She thought of us."

** Great. Now I was choking up and having trouble swallowing. **"awe," Ella said again, "She's getting choked up about us." She almost giggled, but she was in the zone. _If Max and Fang and Iggy can keep playin around, then so can I. _She thought to herself. _Good luck with that,_Ella heard. _Keep out of it, please, Angel? That or you could fill me in,_ _Sorry Ella, I can't tell you anything. Mainly because I don't know what they have planned._

** I'm not sure when it happened, **"Oh crap," Ella groaned, her devious mindset set on the back burner. **but slowly, I became aware that my neck muscles were tensing. I glanced at Fang, who was looking at me sideways while he ate his French fries. **_**I knew that look**_**.**

** Acting **_**tr**__**é**__**s **_**casual, I glanced around again. The couple of families who'd been sitting close by were gone. Now it looked as if a bunch of male models had suddenly gotten the munchies. They were surrounding us, **_**tables of them.**__ "Get out of there!" _Ella and Doctor Martinez said together.

** All good-looking, thick-haired guys with big, pretty eyes and the voices of angels. **"You forgot the stench, though," Fang said.

Iggy snorted, "Yeah, really. I thought I could smell something rank, but then again, I did have my mouth stuffed with delicious nourishment.

** Oh, man. My stomach dropped like a wheelbarrow full of lead. **"Darn-it Max! Why does the chapter always end like that?" Ella asked as Dr. Martinez passed the book on to her eldest daughter.

"what fun would a book be if it didn't have a little suspense in it?" Max answered and started to read. "You know," she said, "it would go faster if no one said anything throughout the chapter."

"But what fun would that be? We don't get a say in what happened?" the Gasman asked.

Max shrugged, "Just sayin's all."

**Chapter 57**

**I gave Fang an almost imperceptible nod and glanced back at the fire exit door behind him. He blinked to show he understood. Then he tapped Iggy's hand.**

** "Nudge," I said under my breath. "Gazzy. Don't look up. In three seconds, jump over Fang and out that exit door."**

** Giving no signs that they heard me, Nudge and Iggy kept chewing. Nudge causally took a sip of her shake. Then, in a burst, she leaped up, sprang off our table, and practically crashed through the fire door. The Gasman was practically glued to her back.**

"Good heavens," Dr. M said.

** I was so proud of them.**

** The alarm started clanging, but I was right behind them – and Fang and Iggy were on my heels. We made it to the van before the Erasers were out the door. **"I'm so glad you guys are as fast as you are." Ella said.

** Inside, I jammed the key into the ignition and cranked the engine. Erasers were swarming into the parking lot, already starting to become wolflike. **"Hurry, Max!" Angel squeaked, leaning into her brother.

** I stomped on the gas and reversed fast, crying out when we felt the thunk of an Eraser being hit. Then I yanked the gear stick into **_**D**_** and we roared over the curb, right through the shrubs that lined the parking lot. The tires squealed as I careened out into traffic, causing a bunch of angry honking from other cars. **"And you wonder why I have little faith in your driving skills," Ella muttered.

** I cut right through a gas station on the corner, narrowly avoiding hitting several cars. On the other side, I roared back into traffic.**

** "**_**Max!**_**" Nudge screamed, but I had seen the semitrailer too, and swerved out of its way at the last second. Behind me, I heard the crunch of metal as the truck scraped a car. Then I was weaving in and out of traffic, wishing I knew how to drive better, wishing we had stolen something besides a van.**

** "It's so bulky!" I cried in frustration as we teetered on two wheels again just turning a corner. **Ella and her mom paled, "Max, are you gonna crash?" Angel asked, and glanced at Max and Fang. "Just hold on, Ange, okay?" she nodded. **Okay, turning fast. But still.**

** "It's a **_**van,**_**" Fang said, as though blaming me for not stealing a race car.**

** We sped out of town – I had to get away from all this traffic. My adrenaline was pumping, my arms felt like corded cables on the steering wheel. **_**We had to ditch this van.**_

** "I'm gonna stop!" I yelled over the noise of the engine. "Jump out and get into the air as fast as you can!"**

** "Okay!" the flock yelled back.**

** A glance in the rearview mirror showed three black cars following us, catching up to us. They were going a lot faster than we were. I had to buy time. Gritting my teeth, I swung off road suddenly, right into a field of corn. We plowed through the dry stalks, wincing as they smacked the windshield. I tried to zigzag as best I \could and then a bit of light up ahead made me hopeful for a road. **"Oh, dear God, Max." Ella said. "I have to agree with Ella here, hon." Dr. M said.

** I didn't see anything in the rearview mirror, and the sound of crunching cornstalks was too loud for me to hear other engines. Had we lost them? And yes, here was a road! Excellent! **"Watch out!" Ella cried out.

** The van tumbled heavily out onto the road, with bone-jolting bumps. As soon as the front tires hit asphalt, I gunned the motor again – **

** Just as a sedan leaped out in front of us. **Everyone winced.

** I hit it head-on at sixty miles an hour. **

Max put the book down as everyone cringed. "And that, ladies and gentlemen is how I hit a car head on at sixty miles an hour and lived to tell the tale. Now, then, who's up for lunch?"

The room was silent as the three eldest flock members stood up and headed to the kitchen.

**a/n: **

**Hey guys! Sooo it took me a lot longer than i thought it would, but you know how that goes so i'm not gonna waste my time explaining. **

**But i do want to know what you thought of the chapter! So please review! Your reviews encourage me to write more! They're what got me to finish it tonight/this morning. So thank you.**

**Oh and quick shout out to everyone who guessed the right movie, it was from the Lion King. not too hard of a guess, but glad you caught on. :D**

**Now then, I want 10 reviews before I update again okay? count them: the big ONE-ZERO, TEN, DIEZ, UNO E CERO. 10. **

**So thanks for reading! I hope to get the next one finished soon, but i need those reviews before i can get it up! So don't let me down! :D **

**Fly on!**

**~Jezebel Raewin**


	29. Chapter 58

**A/N: I own nothing, I only own my plot. :) But all the Max Ride Characters, all that sorta thing, that stuff belongs to the one and only James Patterson. :D**

As the trio of feathery friends reached the kitchen – that'd be Iggy, Fang and Me for those of you who are having a bit of trouble there – the rest of the room looked followed with their eyes.

"Ma-ax! We can't stop here!" Angel whined in unison with Ella and Nudge. Mom was trying to remember how to close her mouth and Gazzy just looked at Iggy and said "What's for lunch Ig?"

I turned around. "We'll read another couple chapters in a few minutes okay? But I need a cooldown." Iggy looked at me and Fang.

"Let me whip up some snacks," Iggy said, "I'll whip up some awesome nummies and citrus-aid then we'll settle down for another round before lunch." I muttered okay and then tapped his and Fangs hand with three fingers. Meaning 'put up your mind blocks, and follow me.' I led them outside for a minute and looked at Iggy.

"Make lots of extras Ig, okay? And make three Gallons of your citrus-aid." I asked him.

He locked his sightless eyes with mine (tres freaky, you know?). "What's the magic word?" he said with an evil, mischievous grin that made me want to hide all my personal belongings.

"Iggy's my favorite person in the world," I started through clenched teeth. "And we would all die of hunger without him." I smacked Fang who was standing behind me. "Now then." I walked back to the door, opened it and said, "10 minute air time. Whose up for it?"

In ten seconds flat the rest of the crew was outside and the flock was immersed in a game of feather tag /hide 'n' seek. It's a really fun combo, but I don't recommend it if your not a feather-kid.

After our cooldown time and with snacks in hand, Fang picked up the book and we settled back into our little reading circle.

**Chapter 58,** he read in his smooth deep voice.

_**Note to self:**_ "This ought to be good," Iggy said, receiving a smack upside the head from yours truly.

Fang smirked as he continued. _**Disable the air bags on the next car you steal.**_

"Max, you should keep them. They might save your life." Mom reprimanded. I rolled my eyes.

**The thing about airbags is that when you hit something at fifty or sixty miles an hour, they inflate with enough raw force to slam you back against your seat like a rag doll, possibly braking your face. Which is what this one had done to me, I concluded, trying to stem the gush of blood from my nose. ** "Um, ew." Ella said. While mom said, "Um, _ow._"

"**Report," I called weakly.**

"**Okay here," Fang said next to me. His neck was scraped raw by the seat belt, which had almost decapitated him. **I kissed the spot remembering how scraped up he was.

"**Okay here," Nudge said from the backseat, sounding young and scared. I craned around to see her. She was pale, except where her forehead was bruised from hitting Fang's seat. Her eyes widened with shock when she saw my bloody face.** Everyone remained silent, waiting to hear from the rest of the others.

"**It's just my nose," I quickly assured her. "Head wounds always bleed a lot. Look, it's already stopping." **"Liar," Ella said and I stuck my tongue out at her. She shrugged. Mom looked a little more worried. **A lie.**

"**I feel like, like pudding," **"Interesting choice," Ella said giggling worriedly, she touched his hand and he held it. **Iggy groaned. "Pudding with nerve endings. Pudding in great pain." **There was much laughter at this line. Iggy laughed too rubbing his arm with his free hand.

"**I feel sick," the Gasman said, his face white, lips pale and bloodless. **

_**Crash! **_"This is not good, not good, not good," my mom kept chanting to herself.

**All around, windows smashed, and we jumped and threw our arms over our faces. I saw a gun hammering at the glass, then hairy hands with ragged claws popped the doors open. **Mom breathed in a sharp gasp.

**There was no time to even get a good kick in – Fang and I were hauled out of the van and thrown to the ground. **Ella winced into Iggy.

"**Run!" I bawled, then hissed in a breath as my nose took another jarring blow. **"How many times has your nose been broken Max?" Ella asked curiously. I shrugged.

"Too many to remember." I told her.

**I glanced up in time to see the rear doors of the van open and Iggy and the Gasman shoot into the air. **"Get out of there boys!" Mom yelled, then looked around sheepishly as we chuckled at her. **A rush of pure joy made me beam, then gag as fresh blood ran into my mouth. **"Yuck." Ella and Nudge agreed.

**I spit it out as the Erasers roared with fury and started shooting at the boys. But Iggy and Gazzy continued to soar into the air. _Yes, yes yes! _**"At least two of you make it out of this situation okay," mom said and I glanced at her, then at Fang. We shared the same thought: _She has no idea how much that saved our butts._

**A kicking and shrieking Nudge was yanked from the back of the van and tossed down next to me. Tears were in her eyes, and I reached out to hold her.**

**An Eraser kicked me hard with his hand-sewn Italian boot. ** "That touching moment didn't last too long, did it?" Ella asked then winced. _**Ow!**_

"**Tag. You're it," Ari cracked, **"Sicko," Ella said, and I grimaced. He'd been a jerk, but he _was _my half brother. And he was only 7. Fang grasped my hand and rubbed soothing circles on it. **and the others laughed, almost dancing with monstrous excitement and glee. **Mom agreed with Ella, "Nasty sickos."

"**It's almost like you don't _want_ to go back to School," he went on, showing his razor-sharp yellow teeth, dripping Eraser drool on me.**

**There were five Erasers and three of us. I'm weirdly, incredibly strong for my size, but Ari outweighed me by about 160 pounds, and he kept his booted foot pressed hard against my forehead. I wanted a shot at him – just one lethal, brain-splattering shot. **I tried to control my reaction, but I still winced into Fangs shoulder as he kept rubbing circles on my palm.

**I met Fang's eyes, which were dark and expressionless, and then Nudge's. I tried to give her a reassuring smile, **"I'm sure that worked great," Ella said sarcastically, "what with your face being covered in blood and all." I smirked as Fang continued to read. **but since my face was one big gore-fest, it didn't have the cheering effect I'd hoped for. **Ella snickered.

**Then we all heard the _whup, whup_ of a chopper headed our way, and the Erasers started to shout and wave their arms. **"Like shouting would do much good." Iggy said. "The people in the copter wouldn't be able to hear them. . . idiots." He scoffed.

"**What a touching scene," Ari called down at me. "We're all going home. Just like old times." **"Wow." Ella said, as Fang passed the book to Nudge, "Ari's a creep." Everyone nodded.

"Ari _was_ a creep," I said with a sigh so quiet I'm not even sure Iggy heard it.

**A/N:**

**Okay guys. . . . it's been like what TWO weeks since my last review? and that only brought the total to NINE. * sigh * is it really so hard? You push the little button on the bottom, you don't even have to sign in if you don't want to. Last time I checked I had anonymous reviews allowed. **

*** sigh * any way. That's enough of my ranting.**

**BUT since I only received nine (grr) You only get one chapter being read. So you want three in a chappie, you gots to review! :D I know you can do that much. I have faith in my faithful readers, who by the way have totaled over 208 this month! :D**

**So lets see if we can actually reach ten this time shall we? Then maybe – and I mean _MAYBE_ – I'll do four chapters being read in the next chapter. **

**Unless I was misinformed,**

**~Jezi Raewin **


	30. Chapter's 59, 60, 61, & 62

**AN: Disclaimer: why do they call it that? DIS claimer. Well This disclaimer is stating that I DISCLAIM The characters, the book, and what not. See ya at the bottom! ^_^**

Nudge picked up the book and started to read.

**Chapter 59.**

_**Angel was alive.**_** As long as she was, I could deal with just about anything else.** "Oh no, you must have been caught!" Mom cried, then her expression changed. Ella looked at her like mom had gone crazy.

"What do you know, that I don't know?" Ella asked warily. Mom just shook her head.

**I knew she was alive because I could see her in the pitiful cage next to mine. **"I was hoping you were wrong," Ella said. "Get out of there fast!" Iggy and Gazzy were listening carefully, wanting to learn what happened on the inside. Ella looked at the boys carefully and said, "And what were _you _doing about all this?"

Iggy shrugged but Gazzy's eyes lit up. "We flew back to the cave." I silenced him with a look. She didn't need to know that we were rescued by hawks. Not yet at least.

**If we pushed our fingers through our bars as hard as we could, we were an inch away from actually touching each other.** "That's so sad," mom said, "being so close, but so far." I nodded.

"**At least they gave you a _big_ crate," she said in a small, raspy voice. "I'm in a _medium._" **Mom's eyes turned murderous. I had to nudge her to remind her that they've been dealt with.

**My throat closed up. That she was still trying to be brave just rocked my world. I felt ashamed for taking so long to get here, ashamed for letting the Erasers catch us, ashamed for being a failure, even as a freak. **Mom and Ella and Fang and Iggy all looked at me. "You are _NOT_ a failure." They all said in unison. And all the younger guys nodded their heads in sync. I held my hands up in surrender.

"Okay! Okay!" I said. "Can you keep reading Nudge? Please?" she nodded, smiled – well as well as she could when we were being reminded of the worst place in the planet.

"**It's not your fault," she said, reading my thoughts. She looked just terrible. **"every looks terrible there." Nudge said. **Her eyes were hollow and smudged with huge purple shadows. One whole side of her face was a bruise going yellow and green at the edges. Angel looked thin and dry, like a leaf, her bones as delicate as stems. Her feathers were limp and dirty. **"Oh my," mom said, her face dropping back into a look I'd seen only a couple times before. The one mixed with outrage and with worry. I call it Worrage.

**Across the aisle from us, Nudge and Fang were in crates of their own. Nudge looked really shaky, trying to get her fear under control but losing the fight. Fang sat with his hands clasped around his knees, not moving. He'd smiled at Angel when he'd first seen her, but mostly he looked cool, removed, distant. He was retreating into himself, the only place left to retreat to. **I looked over at him now, He was starting to retreat again. I grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze, letting him know that it's all over now. That we were safe. . . . for now.

"**I'm sorry, Max," Angel whispered, her eyes troubled. "This is all my fault." **"It was never your fault, Angel." I said.

"**Don't be dumb," I told her, sounding Elmer Fuddish because of my clogged and broken nose. "It could happen to any of us. And it's _my_ fault that Fang, Nudge, and I got caught." **Nudge and Fang scoffed, but didn't say a word. I shrugged, it was like, two years ago.

**All around me, the smells of cold metal and antiseptic were awakening horrible memories I had buried deep a long time ago. Flashes of light, pain, and fear kept popping inside my head, making me feel a little crazy. My nose had finally stopped bleeding but it hurt. My headache was back – big-time – and I was seeing flashes of the strangest images. **"Wait...what?" Ella asked, confused. I shrugged.

"You'll find out soon enough." I told her glancing at Fang. We were both remembering my tumble out of the sky. **What was _that _all about?**

"**Max, there's something I have to tell you." Angel started to cry.**

"**Shh," I said soothingly. "It can wait. Just rest. Try to feel better."**

"**No, Max, it's really important-"**

**A door opened, **"Darn." Ella said. "You should have listened to her, Max." I sighed.

"Yeah, I know."

**and loud footsteps sounded on the linoleum tile. Angel's eyes were panicked in her bruised little face. Fury ignited in me that _anything, anyone_, could make a little girl so afraid.**

**I coiled my muscles, narrowing my eyes and putting on my fiercest look. They were going to be sorry the ever picked Angel to mess with. They were going to be sorry they'd ever been _born_.**

**My hands clenched into fists. I crouched in my crate, ready to spring at whoever opened it so I could rip their lungs out. I'd start with Ari, the creep of creeps. **Ella nodded her head in agreement, while I tried to go back to being expressionless. Fang rubbed my hand.

**Angel was hunched over now, crying silently, and inside I started freaking, wondering what on earth they had done to her. I felt totally wired on adrenaline, just _nuts._** "Max," Gazzy snickered weekly, "You _are_ nuts." I smirked at him.

**A pair of legs stopped right in front of my crate. I could see the edges of a white lab coat brushing the knees.**

**He bent down and looked into my crate with a gentle, rueful expression.**

**My heart almost stopped, and I fell backward off my heels. **"Oh, snap." Ell said.

"**Maximum Ride," said Jeb Batchelder. "Oh, I've missed you so much." **Nudge handed the book to the Gasman and he continued to read.

**Chapter 60 **He said in my voice.

_**I'm hallucinating,**_** I thought dazedly. ****_I'm having an out-of-body experience._**

**Everything else in my vision faded away. I could see only Jeb, smiling at me through the bars of my dog crate.**

**Jeb had been the only parentlike person I'd ever had. He had kidnapped the six of us four years ago, stolen us away from this freak show and hidden us in the mountains in our house. He'd helped us learn how to fly – none of us had ever been allowed enough space to try before. He'd fed us, clothed us, and taught us survival skills, how to fight, how to read. He'd told jokes and read stories and let us play video games. He'd made us dinner and tucked us in at night. Whenever I'd felt afraid, I'd remind myself that Jeb was there and that he would protect us, and then I'd always feel better.** "Wow." Ella said, sounding shocked. "I thought Jeb was horrible to you guys from the beginning." I shook my head wearily.

"Now," I said, "He means nothing to me. He may be my dad, but he'll never be my father to me. Not after what he's put us through."

**Two years ago, he'd disappeared.**

**We'd always _known_ he'd been killed. We'd _known_ that he would have died rather than disclose our location. That he died trying to protect us. That kind of thing.**

**For the last two years, we'd all missed Jeb so much, with a horrible, aching, wailing pain that just wouldn't stop. You know – like if your dad or mom died. It had been so awful in the beginning, when he hadn't come home, and then when we'd had to accept that he never would.**

**Dead or alive, he'd been my hero. Every day. For the last four years.**

**Now my eyes were telling me that he was one of _them_. That maybe he'd been one of them all along. That everything I'd ever known or felt about him had been a rotten, stinking lie.**

**Now Angel's words, her fear, her tears, made horrible sense. She'd known.**

**I was dying to look at her, at Fang or Nudge, to see their reactions. **"What_ were_ your reactions?" Ella and I asked. Fang shrugged then glared murderously at the book.

"I never fully trusted him in the first place." Fang said deathly quiet. "The fact that he'd shown up here, in our own personal hell – Sorry Dr. M – didn't seem to far of a stretch for me."

"Well," Nudge started. "At first I was like, _zomg, he's gonna save us again!_ But then I was like, _no wait, he died he can't be here._ And then I was like, _Oh no he didn't just fake his death and join the dark side. Max is gonna kill him._ And the-"

"And then Gazzy shut me up and I couldn't talk anymore." the Gasman said sounding exactly like Nudge, causing us all to laugh.

**But I wouldn't give him that satisfaction.**

**Like a door slamming shut, everything in me that had loved and trusted Jeb closed down. In its place rose new feelings that were so powerful and full of hate that they scared me.**

**Which is saying something. **"I'm surprised you didn't take him down the second he unlatched your – your crate, Max." Ella said.

"**I know you're surprised," he said with a smile. "Come on. I need to talk to you." **

**He unlatched my dog door and held it open. In a nanosecond, I had a plan of action: not to act. **"Wouldn't that be an _inaction_ plan?" Iggy asked. "Ow!" he rubbed the spot where I wacked him as Gazzy continued to read.** Just to listen and watch. To absorb everything and give out nothing. **"That's a _great_ plan." Fang said. "Look how much it saved us!" I smirked and hit him upside the head.

"Shut up." I told him. I knew very well it wasn't my plan that saved our butts. But I wasn't about to tell Fang he was right.

**Okay, as a plan, it wasn't the blueprint of Westminster Abbey, but it was a start. **Unfortunately, my bookself didn't agree.

**Slowly, I climbed out of my crate. My muscles groaned when I stood up. I didn't look at any of the flock when I passed, but I put my right hand behind my back, two fingers together.**

**It was our sign that said "Wait."**

**Jeb had taught it to us. **"Well on that cheery note," Gazzy said, handing the book to Angel, "I'm gonna grab another cookie."

Angel started to read.

**Chapter 61**

**Jeb and I walked past a bank of computers, **"Oooh," Nudge said, "We get to finally find out what you talked about with Jeb."

I looked at her. "I told you what he told me."

She rolled her eyes. "But you didn't tell us everything."

**out of sight of the others. A door in the far wall led into a smaller, less lablike room furnished with couches, a table and chairs, a sink, microwave.**

"**Sit down, Max, please," he said, gesturing to a chair. "I'll get us some hot chocolate." He said it casually, knowing it was my favorite, as if we were in the kitchen back home.**

"**Max, I have to tell you-I'm so proud of you," he said, putting mugs in the microwave. "I just can't believe how well you've done. No, I _can_ believe it-I knew you could do it. But seeing you so healthy, so powerful, such a good leader, well, it just makes me so proud."** I narrowed my eyes along with Fang.

**The microwave beeped, and he set a steaming mug on the table in front of me. We were in a top-secret facility in the middle of Death Valley, officially called "freaking nowhere" on any map, and yet he managed to produce marshmallows, plopping two into my cup.** Ella started to snicker. I glanced at her and she sobered up immediately. I guess my expression made her not want to take this scene too lightly.

**I looked at him steadily, ignoring the hot chocolate, which was making y stomach growl.**

**He paused as if to give me time to reply, then sat down across from me at the table. It _was_ Jeb – my brain finally accepted the inescapable truth. I recognized the fine pink scar on his jawline, the slight bend to his nose, the tiny freckle on his right ear. This was not his evil twin. It was him. _He _was evil.**

"**You must have so many questions," he said. "I don't even know where to start. I just – I'm just so sorry about this. I wish I could explain – wish I could have explained two years ago, to you, if no one else. I wish I could explain what I'd give just to see you smile again."**

_**How about your head on a stick? **_Everyone snickered, well Fang and I smiled.

"**But in time, Max, it will all come out, and you'll understand what's happening. That's what I told Angel. I told her that everythign is a test, even when you don't know it. That sometimes you just have to do what you have to do and know it will all be clearer later. All of this has been a test." He waved his hand vaguely, as if to encompass my entire experience.**

**I sat there, conscious that my sweatshirt was crusted with blood, that my face hurt, that I was hungry again – _quelle surprise_ – and that I had never,ever wanted to kill anyone more, not even last summer when Iggy had shredded my only, favorite pair of non-Goodwill pants to make a fuse long enough to detonate something from fifty feet away.**

**I said nothing, had no expression on my face.**

**He glanced at me, then at the closed door. "Max," he said, with a new tone of urgency in his voice. "Max, soon some people will come in to talk to you. But I need to tell you something first."** "I bet what he says is definitely gonna make your day." Ella said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes at my sister.

_**That you are the devil incarnate?**_

"**Something I couldn't tell you before, something I thought I'd have time to prepare you for later."**

**He looked around, as if to make sure no one else could hear. Guess he was forgetting all our surveillance lessons, about hidden mikes and heat sensors that can see through walls, and long-distance listening devices that could pick up a rat sneeze from a half mile away.**

"**The thing is, Max," he said, tons of heart-wringing emotion in his eyes, "you're even more special than I always told you. You see, you were created for a_ reason_. Kept alive for a purpose, a special purpose."**

_**You mean besides seeing how well insane scientists could graft avian DNA into a human egg?**_ Everyone snickered again.

**He took a breath, looking deep into my eyes. I coldly shut down every good memory I had of him, every laugh we'd shared, every happy moment, every thought that he was like a dad to me.**

"**Max, that reason, that purpose is: You are supposed to _save the world_. **"Not too much to ask is it?" Iggy asked, breaking the tension and causing everyone in the room to laugh. Smiling, Angel passed the book onto Ella.

**Chapter 62** Ell read.

**Okay, I couldn't help it. My jaw dropped open. I shut it again quickly. Well. This would certainly give weight to my ongoing struggle to have the bathroom first in the morning.** Everyone burst out laughing. Mom shook her head and Fang looked at me. "You find out your supposed to save the world and you think to yourself '_I can get the bathroom first now?'_" I looked right back at him.

"So?"

He shrugged. I shrugged, and shoved him, he smirked.

"**I can't tell you much more than that right now," Jeb said, looking over his shoulder again. "But I had to let you know the size of what we're dealing with, the enormity, the importance. You are more than special, Max. You're preordained. You have a destiny that you can't imagine." **

_**Maybe I can't imagine it because I'm not a complete **_**nutcase. **"I agree with you, Max." Ella said.

"**Max, everything you've done, everything you are, everything you can be, is tied into your destiny. Your life is worth the lives of thousands. The fact that you are alive is the most important thing anyone has ever accomplished." **"Well doesn't that make me feel real special," Iggy and Fang said in unison.

**If he was expecting a gushing response, he was gonna wait a long time. **"Channeling your inner-Fang, there, Max?" Ella said, snickering along with Nudge and Angel. I narrowed my eyes at her and rolled my eyes.

**He sighed heavily, not taking his eyes off me, disappointed at my lack of excitement over hearing that I was the messiah.**

"**It's okay," he said with sad understanding. "I can barely imagine what you must be feeling or thinking. It's okay. I just wanted to tell you myself. Later, others will come to talk to you. After you've had a chance to think about this, to realize what it could mean for you and the others. But for now, don't say anything to the rest of the flock. It's our secret, Maximum. Soon the whole world will know. But not just yet."**

**I was getting very good at saying nothing. **"I bet you were." Iggy said.

**He stood up and helped me from my chair, a solicitous hand under my elbow that made my flesh crawl. **

**We walked in silence back to the row of crates, and he unlatched mine and waited patiently for me to crawl inside. **"Well isn't he such a sweetheart?" Gazzy said channeling his 'southern-belle' accent. **_Such a gentleman._**

**Latching it behind me, he leaned down to give me one last meaningful look. "Remember," he whispered. "Trust me. That's all I ask. Just trust me. Listen to your gut." **"Soo, basically, he's contradicting himself." Iggy said.

"Do explain," Ella said.

"Well he said to trust him. Trust him and listen to your gut, right?" He asked. "Well if max listened to her gut she would not trust him and by not trusting him, she would kill him the next chance she got." Ella nodded looking still slightly confused.

"Good explanation, Ig," I said.

**Well, how many times had I heard him say _that?_ I wondered contemptuously as he walked away. Right now my gut was telling me I wanted to take his lungs out with a pair of pliers. **"Precisely," Iggy said. And Ella said: "OOOOHHHH. I get it!"

I laughed at her, she was so funny sometimes.

"**You okay?" Angel asked anxiously, pressing her little face to the side of her cage.**

**I nodded, and met Fang's and Nudge's eyes across the way.**

"**I'm okay. Everyone hang tough, all right?"** "Like there's much else we could do," Fang whispered.

**Nudge and Angel nodded, concerned, and Fang kept staring at me. I had no idea what he was thinking. Was he wondering if I was a traitor? Was he wondering if Jeb had managed to turn me-or if I had been in league with Jeb from the beginning?**

"How you could ever think that I thought you were in cahoots with that traitor, I'll never know." Fang said, shaking his head from side-to-side. I whacked him upside the head again. Then kissed his cheek.

**He would find out soon enough.**

"That's the end of the chapter," Ella said, passing the book onto mom.

**AN:**

**Wow. Can I just say: _WOW._**

**You guys continue to surprise me. I love my faithful viewers and reviewers. ^_^ You guys made it to 10 chapters within the first day of it being up! :D OH! And not to mention the 450+ hits!**

**For my friends, I have decided to update one more time this Easter weekend. I hope you all have had a BLESSED Easter, celebrating the life of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.**

**I know I've had a great one. And it's not even over yet!**

**So guys. I would love to hear how you enjoyed this set of chapters! So PLEASE take the time to review. :) It takes just a few seconds. (: Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to make anonymous reviews be allowed. So if anyone has experience with that, please share how to do so. :D**

**Ooh! One more thing: I JUST got ANGEL. :D :D :D Like as part of my Easter Basket! ^_^ ^_^**

**So I'm super excited. **

**The next chapter should be ready _BY_ next Saturday. So it'll be a weekend thing, unless I have it ready before then. :D Sound good?**

**Well I think that cover's it! **

**Wait! One more: (Sorry guys, I know it's a long AN but hold on) I just published a new story. It's a Maximum Ride story, and it's called _A Story Not To Forget. _And you should totally check it out! :D please? :D**

**Well now then, that's all I've got.**

**Fly on!**

**~Jezebel Raewin**


	31. Chapter's 63, 64, 65, & 66

Mom took the book and started to read.

**Chapter 63**

**Hours went by. In the dictionary, next to the word _stress,_ there is a picture of a midsize mutant stuck inside a dog crate, **There was much laughter at this, and I smirked. **wondering if her destiny is to be killed or to save the world. **

**Okay, not really. **"There should be," I said. "There should be pictures in the dictionary."

"There are, though." Ella said. I raised an eyebrow. "Only in the children's dictionary. But there are pictures in it." She laughed and I shook my head while smiling.

**But there should be.**

**If you can think of anything more nerve-racking, more guaranteed to whip every fiber in your body in a know, you let me know. **"I'm sure you can think of something else now," Iggy said.

I thought for a second as several scenarios ran through my head. "Yup, yup I could. But I'm not telling you right now." I said and he snickered.

**I couldn't tell the others anything – not even in a whisper. If it amused Jeb to pretend that closed doors and lowered voices protected one against surveillance, that was fine. But I knew better. There could be cameras and mikes hidden anywhere, built into our crates. So I couldn't go over a plan, offer reassurance, or even freak out and say, "Oh, my God! Jeb is alive!"**

**When Angel whispered, "Where are Gazzy and Iggy?" I just shrugged. Her face fell, and I looked hard at her. _They got away. They're okay._**

**She read my thoughts, gave a tiny nod, then gradually slumped against the side of her crate, worn out.**

**After that, all I could do was send meaningful glances.**

**For hours.**

"I bet you guys just _loved_ that." Ella said laying on the sarcasm.

**My headache was back, and when I shut my eyes all these images danced on the back of my eyelids. **Ella and mom cocked their heads looking like total when he hears something that he's not too sure about.

**At one point a whitecoat came in and dumped another "experiment" into the crate next to mine. I glanced over, curious, then quickly turned away, my heart aching. It looked enough like a kid to make me feel sick, but more like a horrible fungus. **Mom was having trouble staying focused on the words here. **Huge pebbly growths covered most of its body. It had few fingers and only one toe, **Mom stopped reading and I slowly took the book from her as I told her to breathe in and out. I continued to read so we could get past this monstrosity.** stuck onto the end of a foot like a pod. Senseless blue eyes looked out at me, blinked. **

**Sometime in the next half hour, I realized the "experiment" was no longer breathing. It had died, right next to me. **Ella breathed in and mom looked pained.

**Horror-struck, I looked across at Angel. She was crying. She knew. **A couple tears slid down moms cheek as she took all this in.

**Finally, much later, the door to the lab opened. A crowd came in, and I heard human voices and Eraserlike croons and laughs. They wheeled a big flatbed cart to our aisle. **Mom sat back up and her expression hardened. I could almost read the thoughts as if they were printed on her forhead: _"They are _not_ going to hurt my child. Not again."_

"**I count only four," a man said in a prissy, concerned voice. **Mom smiled slightly and glanced at the two who were MIA.

"**Two bout it," Ari said, **"Did he really think we would die _that _easily?" Gazzy asked and shook his head. **sounding triumphant. "Back in Colorado. This is what's left." He kicked my cage, making the bars rattle. "Hi, Max. Miss me?" **Ella scoffed.

"**Is the director quite sure about this?" a woman asked. "It seems a shame – there's so much more we can learn from them." **Mom's expression turned murderous. "_Learn_ from them. _LEARN."_I had to grab her hand to calm her down.

"Mom," I said, looking her straight in the eyes. "It's okay." She took a breath in and sighed.

"You're right."

I offered her the book again but she shook her head. I took that to mean:

"**Yes," said a third whitecoat. "It's just too risky. Given how uncooperative the little one has been." **Mom smiled slightly at angel while I beamed at her, she'd been so strong. It made me proud to be the main one she looks up to.

**I caught Angel's eye and gave her a thumbs-up, proud of her resistance. She sent a weak grin back at me.**

**Then her cage was grabbed roughly and swung onto the cart like luggage. She winced as her bruised cheek hit the side, and fury flamed in me again. **Apparently, it lit in my mom and El, Iggy and Gaz too. I tried to read a bit faster so we could get to the escape first.

**In the next second, Ari grabbed my crate and swung me up next to her on the cart, letting me drop with a crash that made me bite my lib hard. Like I needed another head wound. He grinned through the bars, letting me see his long yellow fags. **Nudge shivered alongside Ella, Gazzy and Angel.

"**Strong, like bull," he bragged.**

"**Your dad must be so proud," **I tried not to wince as I heard those words escape my lips for the second time. Fang nudged my leg.

** I said snidely, and he angered instantly, punching my cage so hard I almost toppled over.**

** "Easy," murmured a whitecoat, earning herself a murderous snarl from Ari.**

** Then two more Erasers loaded Nudge and Fang on next to us. With Ari trailing behind, looking angry, they pushed us through wide double doors. The hall outside was painfully bright and overlaid with the smells of floor cleaner and office machines.**

** Clutching the bars of my crate, I peered out, trying to recognize a doorway, an office – anything that would tell me what section of the School we were in. The Erasers poked their fingers through our bars, **"Bite it." Ella said, making me smirk. **trying to scratch us, taunting, literally rattling our cages. I wondered how much strength it would take to grab an Eraser finger and snap it.**

** We took a sharp left turn and got pushed through more double swinging doors, and then we were outside. I inhaled eagerly, but even outdoors at the School the air was tainted and foul.**

** Squinting, I shifted from side to side in my cage, looking for landmarks. Behind us was the lab building. Ahead of us, maybe a hundred yards away, was a low redbrick building. We were in the yard in back of the School.**

** The yard where Erasers were trained to bring down prey and tear it limb from limb.**

** Which was probably why they were laughing. **"Oh my." mom said. "Guys get there fast." Iggy and Gazzy said in unison: "Yes ma'am."

I continued to read, seeing as it was technically 'my' turn now.

**Chapter 64**

**The funny thing about facing imminent death is t**

**hat it really snaps everything else into perspective. **"is this like the prologue?" Ella asked.

I nodded slightly, "But not very much so."

** Like right now. My choices were to either give in and let them kill all of us or fight back with everything I had.**

** I choose the second one, 'cause I'm just funny that way.**

** In the split second I had to ponder what form my "fighting to the death" would take, a shadow blotted out the sun. **"Finally," Iggy said, "You noticed us."

** "Got your running shoes on, piggy?" Ari asked, pushing his hair fingers through the bars of my cage and wiggling them. "Feeling like a little exercise? Wanna race? Wanna play food fight? You're the food!" **"Wow, Max," Ella said, "How did you put up with that? He sounds so annoying!"

** I grinned evilly. Then I leaned over and chomped hard on Ari's fingers. **"Hey!" Ella said, smiling. "You took my advice!" I laughed at my sister before continuing on.** He sucked in a deep breath, then yelled in awful pain. I gathered my strength and bit down harder, until I actually felt my teeth break his skin, tasted his horrible blood. But you know what? I didn't care. Seeing Ari hurt was worth it. **I felt Fang rub circles on my back.

** After the car wreck, biting anything hurt majorly, **"You really should have been resting Max," mom said worriedly, "It's amazing you don't have any permanent damage with all the strain you keep putting on your injuries." I shrugged and smiled at her. **but I shut out the pain and put every ounce of my fury into my aching jaws. Ari was shaking my cage, slamming it with his other hand, and my head was getting snapped around like a paddle ball. **Everyone winced but me.

** But I hung on, thinking pit bull thoughts. **Fang and I snickered and Ella laughed, for a different reason. "Why are you and Fang snickering?" Mom asked.

"Oh, I'm sure it'll come up eventually," I told her. Man those brief moments when I saw my reflection as an Eraser really freaked me out.

** The whitecoats were yelling at me now. Still screaming, Ari began savagely kicking my cage. Suddenly, I unclenched my teeth and let go. His next kick smashed my crate sideways. It rolled over a couple of times.**

** I landed upside down, right next to Angel's crate door. **"Yes!" Ella and Mom said. "Get out of there!" **Being smarter than the average bear, it took me only a few seconds to unlatch it.**

** "Go!" I ordered. "Go! Don't argue!"**

** She edged her door open and scrambled out just as Ari slammed down on top of my crate in a murderous rage. I braced myself as best I could, but he was tearing into the crate, roaring with pain. The crate tumbled sideways on the grass, and for just a split second, I caught a glimpse of the sky. It was streaked with dark, fast moving storm clouds. Then I was batted upside down again, making me feel like laundry in a dryer. **"Wait," Gazzy and Iggy said snickering. "Have you had that happen before?" I rolled my eyes and kept on.

** Ari was screaming furiously, calling me awful names and shaking his bleeding fingers so that flecks of gore spattered me through the bars. **"Yuck," Ella and Nudge said.

** But I was smiling now. My first really good smile in days. **

** I knew what the storm clouds were.**

** They were hawks – led by Iggy and the Gasman, who else? And they were storming the School to save us. **"That's gonna be an awesome rescue," Ella said. "I'm so glad you were not captured! You've gotta get out of there before the Erasers can catch you!" One single look from Fang and Ella quieted up pretty fast.

**Chapter 65** Fang read.

**Call me crazy, **"But Fang, why would you ask us to call you crazy?" Ella said, giggling.

"Yeah, really, cause you already know" Nudge said

"you're crazy and _we_ know you're crazy." Gazzy said.

"So we don't really need to call _you_ crazy." I said ending it up. We all laughed our butts off until Fang's glare silenced the three younger ones. It couldn't silence me for long though. One of the upsides to knowing Fang so well.

**But there's just something cheering about seeing huge raptors tear into Eraser flesh. **"No offense, Max, but that's kind of gross." Ella said.

** Just as Ari, ignoring the latch in his murderous rage, finally succeeded in ripping it open, he was dive-bombed by a hawk with razor-sharp talons and a huge grudge against wolves. As I popped out, I saw him swatting at it, screaming like a big weenie as the bird sliced into the back of his neck. **I, along with Ella and Nudge winced. That had to hurt.

** "Angel! Get out of here!" I yelled, racing to her.**

** Two whitecoats were chasing her, but I got there first. I elbowed one out of the way, grabbed Angel's waist, and _threw_ her up into the sky. **"Well that's _one_ way to get airborne." Mom said with a slight smile.

"Though, it's not the most comfortable way." Angel said and the three youngsters nodded their heads in agreement.

"What?" I said, noticing the glances of my mom and Ella. "Sometimes that's the fastest way to get them into the air! Just throw 'em off a cliff." Now everyone was laughing again.

** Then I managed to unlatch Fang's crate. The whitecoats fell on me, but a regular grown-up versus an angry Max doesn't stand a chance. I backhanded one across the jaw, feeling teeth knock loose. The other I kicked right under his double chin. His head jerked back, and he dropped like a brick.**

** Fang burst out of his cage, then grabbed a whitecoat and slammed him against the cart. He drew back a fist and punched, looking cold and determined. The whitecoat's eyes rolled back, and he crumpled.**

** Getting to Nudge took no time. She tumbled out of her crate just as Iggy and the Gasman led their hawk swarm in for round two. **

** Close by, one of the female whitecoats was struggling to her feet. I darted toward her, then jumped into the air, my right leg already swinging out in a huge roundhouse kick. I hit her in the chest, _wham! _She sank to her knees, unable to breathe, a stunned look on her face. **"Nice one, Max." Iggy said, not having any idea of the battle on the ground except for the sounds of angry whitecoats and hawks. I imagined it was nice for him to be able to hear about what was actually happening.

** "Think of this as an occupational hazard, you witch!" I snarled, then spun to check on the rest of the flock. **

** Fang was venting his hostility on Ari, who crouched defensively on the ground, his arms wrapped around his head. Fang smashed him sideways with a kick, then punched the side of Ari's head.** "That's gonna hurt him." Ella said, rubbing the side of her head.** For good measure, Fang hoisted a crate and crashed it down on the wicked Eraser. **"Oh, the irony." Ella said. **Now it looked as though Ari had been caught in a cage.**

** I shot into the air, feeling exhilarated as fierce hawks rushed past me. I counted four whitecoats, Ari, and three other Erasers on the ground, two Erasers still standing. One of them pulled out a gun, but promptly had his wrist muscles slashed by an unforgiving beak. **Mom and Ella sucked in a sharp breath. "Can you say '_OW?'" _Ella said. **_Ooh. That had to hurt._**

** "Fang!" I bellowed. "Iggy! Gazzy! Let's go! Go, go, go!" **"Yes, get out of that horrible place." Mom said her angry, upset expression back on her face.

** Almost reluctantly, they pulled high into the air. Iggy moved through the hawks. By some unspoken message, he communicated that our battle was over. **"Working with the hawks was totally one of the most awesome things we've ever done." Gazzy said, high-fiving Iggy. **Those beautiful birds swerved gracefully and rocketed upward, making my ears ring with their wild calls.**

** "One, two, three, four five," I counted rounding up my own flock and urging them higher. "Fang! Get Angel!" Angel had managed to stay airborne all this time, but she was sagging and losing altitude. Immediately, the Gasman flew to one side, Fang to the other, and they held her as they rose.**

** More whitecoats and Erasers streamed out of the building, but we were too high and moving too fast for them to hurt us. _So long, cretins,_ I thought. _School is out – forever._**

** "Max!" **"Don't look down now!" Mom said worriedly.

** That voiced tugged my gaze downward.**

** Jeb stood there. He must have gotten caught in the hawk attack, because his white coat was torn, his shoulder red with blood. "Maximum!" he yelled again. The expression on his face wasn't anger – it was something I didn't recognize.** "Have you encountered it since then? Any ideas what it was?" Mom asked, curious. I shook my head. I couldn't remember.

** "Max! _Please!_ This was all a test! Don't you get it? You were _safe_ here! **"I get that you're a looney toon if you think that place was safe." Ella muttered and I laughed along with Iggy. **This was only a _test!_ You have to trust me – I'm the only one you _can_ trust! Please! Come back – let me explain!"**

** I looked at him, the man who had saved my life four years ago, taught me practically everything I knew, comforted me when I cried, cheered me on when I fought, held my hair back when I was heaving my Wheaties, **"Um, ew." Nudge said. Ella agreed. **the closest thing I ever had to a dad.**

** "I don't think so," I said tiredly. Then I pushed down hard and let my wings carry me far away, up to where my family was waiting. **Fang passed the book to Nudge who accepted it eagerly.

**Chapter 66**She read.

**Two hours later, Lake Mead came into view, along with the cliff top covered with the huge hawks who had rescued us. The six of us, together again, landed gratefully on the scraped-out ledge.**

** Angel collapsed onto the cool, dust-covered floor of the cave. **"Are you okay?" Mom asked Angel. Angel nodded and smiled softly. **I sank down next to her, stroking her hair.**

** "I thought I would never see you again," she said, and a single tear rolled down her face. "they did all kinds of stuff to me, Max. Terrible. Terrible. Terrible."**

** "I would _never_ quit trying to get you back," I told her, feeling like my heart was going to overflow. "There's no way I would ever let them keep you. They would have to kill me first." **"They almost did," Ella said.

** "They almost did," she said, her voice breaking. I gathered her to me and held her for a long time.**

** "This is how it should be forever," Iggy said. "All of us together." **"And yet you were stupid enough to break that." I muttered to Fang. He smacked me on the arm, to show he knew I was joking.

** I looked up to where Fang was leaning against a wall, facing the canyon. He felt my gaze and turned. I held out my left fist. Almost smiling, he came and stacked his left fist on top of it. One by one, the others joined us, and I disentangled my right hand from Angel's hair and tapped the backs of theirs. **

** "I'm just . . . so thankful," I said. Nudge looked at me with faint surprise. Okay, so I'm not the most mushy person ever. I mean, I love my family and I try to be nice to them, but I don't go around telling them how much I love them all the time. **"We know you love us, Max." Gazzy and Angel said together and Nudge nodded on energetically. Iggy rolled his eyes along with Fang.

** Maybe I should fix that. **"That's okay, Max," Iggy said. "You really don't have too."

I smacked him upside the head and said: "I love you, Iggy!"

** "I mean," I said, feeling really self-conscious, "this made me realize how much we all need one another. I need _all_ of you. I love you all. But five of us, or three of us, or two of is isn't _us_. Us is all six."**

** Fang was examining his sneakers with great interest. Iggy was nervously tapping long white fingers against his leg. But my little guys got what I was saying.**

** Nudge threw her arms around my neck. "I love you too, Max! I love all of us too."**

** "Yeah, me too," said the Gasman. "I don't care if we have our house, or a cliff ledge, or a cardboard box. Home is wherever we all are, together." I hugged him, and he nestled against me, looking happy.**

** Later on, we all slept, and awoke in the night to heavy rain, a miracle in the desert. We scrambled up to the ledge and let the rain pour down on us, washing off blood, dirt, and memories. Even raindrops hitting my nose hurt, but I held my arms open to the sky and felt clean and cold and shivery. **Ella sighed, "I love rain."

** I shivered, and Fang briskly rubbed my shoulders. I looked at him, his eyes as dark as the desert sky. "Jeb knows our house," I said very softly.**

** Fang nodded. "Can't ever go back. Guess we need a new home.:**

** "Yes," I said, thinking. I colsed my eyes and opened my mouth slightly, inhaling the chill, rain-washed air. I opened my eyes. "East," I said feeling the rightness of it. "We'll go east." **  
"That's the end of part three." Nudge said.

"Sounds like a good place to stop to me," I said as mom stood up, stretching.

"I need to head into the office for a few hours. Check on things. You kids be all right okay? And Max? I'll meet you at the water's edge around 10:15. Okay?" She said. I nodded and Ella looked really confused.

"No worries, Ella dear," I told her. "Fang and I wanted to show mom something nearby. Now, speaking of my feathery friends, I need to hold a conference with my eldest member's if they please..?" I said, trailing off into a question, then hopped up and ran out the kitchen door. The others followed and I flew up into a nearby tree.

"So what's the plan, Maxi-dear?" Iggy said.

"Well, that's for me to know, and you to find out when we get there! _Ow – _okay, fine." I said caving in since he smacked me. "We're flying up to lake Mead this evening. So Ella can see the sunset from our ledge. SO I need you to whip us up some dinner we can fix over a fire and I need you to make some snacks. Mom told me she had some backpacks for us in the closet by the door and she told me there's a few air mattresses in there too." Fang broke in, saving me from making my long explanation even longer.

"We also need you to whip up some fireworks. And, you know, lunch would be awesome." He said.

"Fine, I'll see what I can do." Iggy said, his expression, which had been going from intrigued to upset to excited (Guess at which part.) was determined.

"one more thing, Ig." I said. "Don't go telling Ella our plan. It's a surprise, okay?"

"Okay, fine." He said and we all jumped out of the tree, racing for the door.

**AN:**

**Hey guys! I'm SOOO SOOO SOOOOOO sorry it took me so long! I don't know why this one was so hard to write! :( Either way, it's here! And It's finished! :D**

**Thanks for reviewing you guys! **

**And for all you Percy Jackson & the Olympian fans out there, I've started a new crossover, so you should really check it out! It's called Wings of Olympus. And it's set _before_ Angel Experiment and AFTER the Titans Curse. **

**Please review this chapter and tell me what you thought about it! :D Next chapter will be Lake Mead and maybe a special campfire chapter. :)**

**Yours featherly,**

**~Jezebel Raewin**


	32. Of Fireside Readings and Feathery Nights

A/n: I do not own Maximum Ride (Belongs to James Patterson).

Third POV:

The feathery trio zoomed to the door at top speed. It was obvious who would win; Max had gone into 'zoom-zoom' mode and bustled through the kitchen window rather than the door. Fang realized what was happening too late. He backpedaled as fast as he could but the door swung open and he and Iggy went down with a flurry of feathers.

In a big _ka-thunk_ the bird-brothers were toppled over in a feathery bundle.

"Get _off!_" Iggy said wrestling to be untangled with Fang's appendages.

"_You_ get off!" Fang said pushing away.

"Boys!" Doctor Martinez said, startled. "Oh, god! Are you two okay? Did I hurt you?"

There was laughter coming from all around them now, then the click of a camera.

Fang hopped up immediately. Turning to glare in the direction of the flash. "You._ Will._ Pay." He said with clear finality in his voice.

"And what makes you so sure, feathers?" Max called out from on the roof. Fang started to go after her, but Iggy pulled him back.

"Let's get her tonight," he whispered. "When she can't escape."

Fang nodded discretely. Then Angel whispered in his head: _"Max will be back soon, she said she's getting something ready...?"_ He looked at her and nodded, then put his shields back up so Angel would be as surprised as the rest of the kids.

Fang POV:

I watched as Ella, Gaz, Angel and Nudge played charades. Max had gotten back almost an hour ago. We were going to leave at about four this afternoon, so I, along with Iggy, was gathering up any thing we might need. I left packing the girls' bags to Max. I'm not about to try packing theirs. Uncharted territory that I don't really care to tread quite yet.

I did, however, pack Gazzy's pack. And mine of course. I tried to keep an eye on everything, help Iggy where I could. There's only so much I can do to help him though, he's got it all under control. . .most of the time. Right now, he was having me 'watch' the snacks. It was more of a guard duty than anything. He wanted to make sure that none of the kids started nibbling on our provisions for the night and morning.

I watched as Nudge proceeded to slither and roll around on the floor like a snake. I raised an eyebrow and watched as the girls began guessing.

"Snake!" "Lizard!" "Eel!"

I rolled my eyes at their attempts, then shouted: "Guys, it's Draco Malfoy." *****

They looked at me as if I grew a second head and a third wing. Nudge jumped up and gave me a hug screaming: "I knew you would get it!"

I glanced at the stairs just as Max was coming down them. She always seems to read my mind. _"SAVE ME!" _I pleaded through my eyes.

_Ha. Are you kidding?_

_Don't and you will be sleeping in the lake instead of the ledge._

She rolled her beautiful chocolate brown eyes and wrestled her way through the girls surrounding me. Ella was spluttering, trying to figure out how in the world I knew the answer.

I wrapped my arms around Max and waited till she was ready. I checked the clock and eyed Iggy. He seemed to feel my gaze as he turned and gave me a nod. I shivered. _Creepy._

Max cleared her throat.

"Well, I have an idea," she said with a smile. "How's it coming, Ig?"

"Almost ready," he said.

"What's up, Max? Got another way to spend the afternoon?" Ella asked and Nudge took in a deep breath and her face lit up. _Here we go,_ I thought.

"Oh! Are we going to have another water balloon war? Or maybe a sock ball fight? Ooh! Ooh! Or we could go to the mall and have a scavenger hunt!"

"As entertaining as that sounds, Nudge," I said speaking over her. "I think you'll like Max's idea better. Any guesses will ruin it." Nudge looked like she was about to burst with questions and ideas but Gazzy firmly clamped his hand over her mouth.

I looked at Max again, _Now? _

_Not yet, we'll surprise them on the way._

I nodded.

Ella groaned, "Would you _stop_ that?" We looked at her and cocked our heads. "Y'know, that weird silent conversation thing you do. It's really annoying."

We smiled in sync, then in 5 seconds we had our backpacks on and had grabbed Ella by the arms. "Guys!" She called out. "What's going on?" She sounded worried, excited and mildly frightened.

"I hope your not scared of heights El," Max said. As we launched into the air unfurling our wings and flew off toward Lake Mead.

I heard Iggy call out before we were out of hearing range. "We'll meet you there!"

Ella was breathing hard. "Max," I said. "We need to fly lower." A look of comprehension dawned on her face and we descended about 10 feet.

"So what do you think, Ella? Cool way to spend the afternoon or what?" Max asked her.

"Oh, my, gods. This is totally awesome!" She said. "I can't believe it! We're almost as high as the clouds! It's like, like, being in an airplane but being able to stick your head out the window. Even that's not close! But one question: Where are we going?"

"Oh, you know, a special place of ours." I said leaving it at that.

Angel and Nudge giggled in excitement. Their wings carrying them higher and faster as they flew toward one of their few safe havens. Iggy had to let Nudge lead; he couldn't see the crevice. The Gasman was flying beside him chatting away about this new video game he wanted. Iggy nodded and voiced his input where needed. Nudge and Angel constantly chattered about what to do when they got there.

Soon they came upon Lake Mead. Nudge led them around toward the cliff where they could see Max hovering above the drop point. She steered them in quietly, shushing them with a smile as they flew past. Iggy touched down silently listening intently to what Max had made them stay quiet for.

Nudge walked over to Fang, and stood by the edge. The sun was slowly making its way closer to the horizon, glinting on the rocks around them, turning them all sorts of shades. But that was nothing compared to being back with the hawks. Nudge let out her wings bit by bit so they could scent her.

A few of the younger hawks fluttered their wings while a few of the older ones came close and started preening Nudge's wings.

"It's like they remember you," Ella said in a whisper. "They did that with Fang, too."

Time passed; the sun set, Iggy prepared dinner and then Max and Fang went down toward the water's edge to get Dr. Martinez. Max thought she could do it herself, but Fang wanted to be sure that Max could get a good hold.

"Ready for one of the coolest sights of your life?" Max asked her mother. Fang smiled at Dr. Martinez and the feather friends grabbed an arm each and flew back up to the cave.

*******TIME PASS*********

Max POV:

"Whoa, what was in that, Iggy?" Mom asked and I smacked him with my wing.

"Fine work, my friend, fine work, indeed." I said.

"I try, and you know, sometimes, I succeed." he said and we all laughed.

"Angel, can you bring me my bag, sweetheart?" I asked her and she jumped up and brought it to me.

"What are we gonna do now, Max?" Nudge asked.

"Oh, I don't know, I thought we might be able to fit in a couple chapters before the show."

"What show?" Ella asked.

"Oh, nothing much. You'll see later." I told her as I handed the book to the Gasman.

"**Chapter 67**" Gazzy read.

**Blue, blue sky, above the clouds. The air is colder, but the sun is warmer up this high. The air is thin and light, like champagne. You ought to try it sometime.** "Oh we have," Iggy said. Ella giggled.

** I felt happy. **"Wait, that can't be right." Fang said. "You were never happy." I glared at him. "I mean, _of course _you were happy, Max."

I nodded. "Good boy."

**The six of us were homeless, aimless, on the run – and might be for the rest of our lives, however long or short they might be. **"That's the Max we all know and love." Iggy muttered, and I whacked him with my wing again. This time harder. **But . . . **

** Yesterday we'd escaped the hounds of hell at the School, after all. We'd had the pleasure of seeing our friends the hawks do some slice 'n' dice on the whitecoats and the Erasers. **Iggy and Gazzy high-fived.

** We had Angel back.**

** I glanced over at her – she was still a mess. **"I can only imagine," mom whispered. **It would take her a while to heal after what they had done to her. Every time I thought about it, chains of anger tightened around me, till I felt like I couldn't breathe. Sensing me looking at her, she turned and smiled. One whole side of her face was green and yellow – a healing bruise.**

** "God!" Nudge said, speeding up a bit to catch my slipstream. "It's just so, so . . . you know?" She swooped down gracefully, then rose again and pulled alongside.**

** "Yeah, I know," I said, grinning at her.**

** "I mean, the air, and we're up so high, and no one's after us, **"How long did _that _last again?" Iggy asked and mom groaned.

"Don't even _say _that!" she said.

"Don't worry mom," I said, "no one was after us for a while. But don't worry; there's plenty of action without them."

**and we're all together, and we hit IHOP for breakfast." She looked at me, her brown eyes bright and untroubled. "I mean, God, we're just up here, and it's so cool, and down below kids are stuck in school or, like, cleaning their rooms. I used to hate cleaning my room."**

** Back when she had a room. I sighed. _Don't think about it_.**

** Then, in the next second, I choked. I think I made some kind of sound, then a blinding, stunning pain exploded behind my eyes. **"What'd I tell you? Plenty of action." I said grimly, wincing at just the memory of the pain.

** _"Max?"_ Nudge screamed.**

** I couldn't think, couldn't speak, couldn't do a thing. My wings folded like paper, and I started to drop like a hailstone. **

** Something was incredibly wrong. **

** _Already._**"God, Max, you have the worst luck _ever._" Ella said.

"So we finally get to know what's going on inside your head during those brain attacks that nearly gave Fang heart attacks." Nudge said and Gazzy laughed.

"Well? Do we get to keep going?" Mom asked.

"It's getting kind of late," I said, wanting to keep everyone in routine. "I think we can let the book rest for now. BUT-" I added to the sad faces that looked at me. "I think the Gasman and Igster have something to show us." They wooped and high-fived each other and Fang tapped Iggy's hand twice – letting him know it was time.

"While they head off to get ready, lets start setting up the beds." I told them and clapped my hands together.

Before long all the beds were set up. We all sat on the ledge overlooking Lake Mead as a flare went up.

"Alright, guys," I whispered into the stillness of the night. "It's starting."

The fireworks show was _amazing._ Iggy had really outdone himself. It started out with your classic boom boom pretty flower like fireworks, but that didn't last real long. Iggy went on to do Feathers in brilliant colors, clouds, he did a fang (Fang chuckled), a shoe (Nudge laughed), a bear with a halo (Angel giggled) a bomb, and a globe. After the globe came in bright colors _save the world_. I wanted to throw him off the cliff. Mom laughed though.

He also did a puppy face, otherwise, we never would have heard the end of it. Total had decided to keep the home safe, but assured us he would be watching the show from the roof.

The boys did a grand finale with each of our initials. Including mom and Ella which made them beam with joy. The E had a faint heart around it. Soon Iggy and Gaz were back and showered with adoration and praise.

We stacked hands and hit the sacks. All of course, but Fang and I.

What?

Someone had to keep watch.

"Nice plan," Fang muttered.

"Thank you," I said, "every now and then, my plans _do_ turn out just fine."

"Get some sleep, I'll get first watch."

I shook my head, leaning against him. "I don't want to sleep yet."

And so we stayed, awake, listening to the sounds of the night – at least, I _was _awake, until Fang started rubbing circles on my back. The last thing I remember is Fang kissing the top of my head.

**AN: Well, I'm back! (: I'll be back too. I promise. No more long breaks, okay? I'm so sorry, I tried to make this one fun. I really did. So let me know if you liked it! **

**From now on, Expect posts on Tuesdays and Fridays. Sound good? I'll do my _best_ to stick to that. Oh and good news! We're halfway through with AE! ^_^ And it all goes pretty fast from here on out so hop on and buckle up for an awesome ride. If you have any suggestions LET ME KNOW. I'm completely open to suggestions and/or requests. **

Review and tell me your favorite part!

**Unless I was misinformed,**

**~Jezebel Raewin**


	33. Chapter's 68, 69, & 70

**AN: I own nothing. I wish I did, but I own nothing except, well, nope. Not a thing.**

Chapter 33

Max POV:

We decided we could stay up here for a bit longer, Mom didn't have to be at work till 3 and that meant we had all morning. The Younger kids played a game of flock tag for a bit, while Iggy warmed up breakfast. After we ate, we all sat around the fire and Angel started to read.

**Chapter 68** She read.

**Tears streamed from my eyes, and my hands clutched my head to keep the pain from splitting my skull wide open. The only semicoherent thought I had was _Please let me go splat soon, so this freaking pain will stopstopSTOP._ **"Max!" Mom said, worriedly. "You mustn't think that way!" Fang glanced at me, and I looked away, muttering _sorry_ to mom and a brief _thank you_ to Fang.

**Then Fang's arms, **"Oh, thank gods," Ella said letting out a deep breath. **ropy and hard, scooped me up, and I felt myself rising again. My wings were mushed between us, but nothing mattered except that my brain had been replaced by a bursting nova of raw agony. I had just enough consciousness to be embarrassed at hearing myself moan pitifully. **Nudge, Ella and mom rolled their eyes at me.

** Death would have been so great just then.** "Just let it go," I said mainly looking at Fang.

** I don't know how long Fang carried me. Slowly, slowly, the pain leached away. I could almost open my eyes a slit. I could swallow. Cautiously, wincing, I let go of my head, half expecting huge shards of skull to come away in my hands. **Mom looked at me warily, and Ella snickered.

** I blinked up at Fang, his dark eyes looking down at me. He was still flying _and_ carrying me.**

** "Man, you weigh a freaking _ton,_" he told me. "What've you been eating, _rocks?_"**

** "Why, is your head missing some?" ** "Nice comeback, Max." Iggy said. Ella laughed along with Nudge and Mom. **I croaked. His mouth almost quirked in a smile, and that's when I knew how upset he'd been.**

** "Max, are you okay?" Nudge's face was scared, making her look really young.**

** "Uh-huh," I managed. _I just had a stroke or something._**

** "Find a place to land," I told Fang. "Please."** "WHOA," Gazzy said and we all looked at him. "Max said _PLEASE!"_ I stared at him and he smiled sheepishly up at me. "I-I mean, why would that be so special? You say it all the time, don't you?" I bobbed my head as Angel handed me the book.

**Chapter 69** I read.

**An hour or so later, I thought that I had recovered - **"from what, though?" Mom asked and I looked at her.

"You'll find out."

**_but from what?_ We were making camp for the night.**

** "Yo, watch it!" I said. Clear more of that brush away – we don't want the whole forest to burn down."** "Well it's good to know that you're feeling more like yourself." Ella muttered, with Gazzy and Iggy snickering.

** "Guess you're feeling like your old self," Fang murmured, kicking some dead branches away from where Iggy was lighting a fire.**

** I shot him a look, then helped Nudge and Angel surround the pile of kindling with big stones. Why was the blind guy playing with matches, you ask? **"Because I'm awesome like that, that's why." Iggy said, high-fiving the Gasman again.

**Because he's good at it. Anything to do with fire, igniting things, exploding things, things with fuses, wicks, accelerants . . . Iggy's your man. It's one of those good/bad things.**

** Twenty minutes later, we were exploring the limits of what could be cooked on sticks over an open fire.** "This should be...interesting," mom said with a wary smile that was also tinged with sadness.

** "This isn't half bad," the Gasman said, eating a curled piece of roasted bologna off his stick.**

** "Don't do bananas," **That earned some laughs. **Nudge warned glumly, shaking some warm mush off into the bushes.**

** "S'mores," I cooed, **"I'm getting hungry again," Gaz muttered. Ella and I rolled my eyes. **mashing a graham cracker on top of the chocolate-and-marshmallow sandwich I had balanced on my knee. I took a bite, and pure pleasure overwhelmed my mouth.**

** "This is nice," the Gasman said happily. "It's like summer camp." **"Have you even been to camp?" Mom asked.

"Well, we did sorta drop in once. We thought it was deserted. . . it's a long story, to long for right now." I said. *

** "Yeah, Camp Bummer," said Fang. "For wayward mutants." **"Way to be a Debbie Downer, Fang." Ella said staring at him.

"Well, someone had to bring us back to reality," He said, "Normally, Max would do that, but it was my turn." He shrugged, I nudge him with my knee.

** I nudge his leg with my sneaker. "It's better than that. This is cool."**

** Fang gave me an "if you say so" look, and turned his bacon over the fire.** "At least it's not desert rat," Iggy muttered, causing chuckles and snickers and ew's.

** I stretched out with my head against my balled up sweatshirt. Time to relax. I had no idea what that pain had been, but I was fine now, so I wasn't going to worry about it. **Nudge snorted along with Fang. "Have you _ever_ chosen _NOT _to worry about something?" the Gasman said. I glared at the three of them.

** What a lie. My knees were practically knocking together. **"That's more like it." **The thing is, the "scientists" back at the School had been playing with risky stuff, combining human and nonhuman DNA. Basically, the spliced genes started to unravel after a while, and the organisms tended to, well, self-destruct. **"Oh, no," Mom said, "You thought you were starting that process, didn't you?" I nodded.

"Thankfully, I was wrong," I said.

**The flock and I had seen it happen a million times: The rabbit-dog combo had been such bad news. Same with the sheep-macaque monkey splice. The mouse-cat experiment had produced a huge, hostile mouse with great balance and an inability to digest either grain or meat. So it starved to death.** Everyone's eyes turned sad as they remembered that one. We'd been in crates in the same room with that one.

** Even the Erasers, as successful as they were, had a huge downside: life span. They went from embryo to infant in five weeks, and from infant to young adult in about four years. They fell apart and died at around six years, give or take.** "What about Ari?" Mom asked, surprising me. "How old was he . . . ?" I frowned. My poor half-brother. I shook my head and continued reading.** But they were being improved all the time.**

** How about us? How long would we last? Well, as far as I knew, we were the oldest recombinant beings the School had ever produced. **"And still are, to this day." Nudge said with a grin.

I grinned at her. "And we're not about to let anything change that, are we?"

"Never!" my flock screamed.

** And we could devolve and expire at any time.**

** And maybe it had started happening to me today.** I shivered remembering how it felt. Like parts of me were unraveling, but I didn't know if they were or not.

** "Max, wake up," said Angel, tapping my knee.**

** "I'm awake." I pulled myself up, and Angel crawled over and climbed into my lap. I put my arms around her and stroked her tangled blond curls from her face. "What's up, Angel?"**

** Her large blue eyes looked solemnly into mine. "I've got a secret. From when I was at the School. It's about us. Where we came from?"**

"Oh wow!" Ella said, looking excited."That must have been -"

"Terrifying." Mom finished. Ella looked at her, then at us.

"Why terrifying?"

"I've got this one, Doctor M." Fang said. "Ella. Imagine right now. _Right now._ Not knowing anything at all about your parents. Imagine being on the run, dumpster diving for food, and knowing that you have wings on your back that you can never get rid of. Imagine not having any friends. But think for a moment – _what if you just found out who your parents were._ What's the number one thought going through your mind?"

I was shocked. That's practically the most I'd ever heard out of Fang. When he speaks, he gives speeches.

She looked at him, her mouth open. She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts then thought for a second.

"Well," She started. "I'm . . . not really sure. I guess I would be thinking something like, 'they've gone so long without me. Would they like me now?'"

We all nodded our heads. Iggy's face was stony.

"Oh, Ella, you have no idea, _no_ idea how lucky you are." Nudge said. "You, and Max."

"Not that this isn't heartwarming and all," Iggy said.

"But can we keep reading?" Gazzy finished.

I nodded and handed the book to Fang muttering as quiet as a feather on the breeze, "Try not to let anyone interrupt." He nodded almost imperceptably.

"I think I almost get it," Ella muttered to herself as Fang started to read.

**Chapter 70** Fang read.

**"What do you mean, sweetie?" I asked softly. _What fresh hell is this?_**

** Angel twisted the hem of her shirt in her fingers, not looking at me. I clamped down on any thoughts I had, so Angel couldn't pick up on my alarm.**

** "I heard stuff," she said, almost whispering.**

** I gathered her closer. When the Erasers had taken her, it felt like someone had chopped my arm off. Getting her back had made me whole again.**

** "Stuff people said or stuff people _thought?"_ I asked.**

** "Stuff people thought," she said. I noticed how tired she looked. Maybe this should wait till tomorrow.**

** "No, I want to tell you now," she said, obviously reading _my_ thoughts. "I mean, it's just stuff I sort of heard. I didn't understand all of it – chunks were missing. And it was from a couple of different people."**

** "From Jeb?" I asked, my throat tight.**

** Angel's eyes met mine. "No. I didn't get anything from him at all. Nothing. It was like he was dead." **"That's really strange." Mom muttered, but sensing our desire to get through this chapter didn't exaggerate any further.

** Angel went on. "They kept doing tests, you know, and they were all thinking about me, about the flock, like, wondering where you were and if you would try to come get me."**

** "Which we _did,_" I said proudly.**

** "Yeah," she agreed. "Anyway, I found out that another place has information about us – like where we came from."**

** My brain snapped awake. "Whaat?" I said. "Like our life span? Or where they got our DNA?" Did I even want to know our life span? I wasn't sure.**

** Angel nodded.**

** "Well, spill it!" Iggy, who must have been awake and listening to us, demanded in that sensitive way of his. I shot him a look – which was useless, of course. And now everyone was awake.**

** "They have files on us," Angel said. "Like, the main files. They're in New York. At a place called the Institute."**

** "The Institute?" I asked. "In New York City or upstate New York?"**

** "I don't know," Angel said. "I _think_ it was called the Institute. The Living Institute or something."**

** Fang was looking at me, still and intent. I knew he had already decided to go check it out, and I nodded briefly.**

** "There's more," Angel said. Her small voice wavered, and she pressed her face into my shoulder.**

** "You know how we always talk about our parents but didn't really know if we were made in test tubes?" Angel said. I nodded.**

** "I saw my name in Jeb's old files," Nudge insisted. "I really did."**

** "I know, Nudge," I said. "Listen to Angel for a minute."**

** "Nudge is right," Angel blurted. "We did have parents – real parents. We weren't made in test tubes. We were born, like real babies. We were born from human mothers."**

"Well, looking back," mom started. "That must have been shocking."

I nodded. "All of us were shocked when we first found out." I said.

"None of us were really expecting what our parents turned out to be, well, those of use who _found _our parents." Gazzy and Angel said together, Gazzy sounding angered and Angel sounding sad.

"But hey," I said, trying to get their spirits back up. "We've got each other and now we've got to get our stuff together. If we're speedy, we may be able to read another set after lunch at the house."

That got them moving. Before we knew it. Iggy was holding Ella bridal style and jumping off the cliff – that definitely had mom worriedly watching as Ella let out a scream of exhilaration and then her being carried higher and higher in Iggy's capable arms.

Nudge and Angel jumped next, falling farther down than Iggy and racing each other as Gazzy followed quickly behind.

I glanced at Fang and then at mom. "You ready?" I asked her with a smile.

She glanced at me. "You're not going to make me jump are you?"

Fang chuckled, "No, don't worry. We'll use a different take off."

"Phew," she said. "Then, yes! I'm ready!"

"Hold tight!" I said as Fang and I ran with mom in between us then leaped in the air, only dropping a few feet before steadily rising into the sun.

**AN:**

**Well? How was it? **

**I think the new schedule's going to work out just fine. What do y'all think?**

**I really appreciate all the hits and reviews. Just to let you know, this story has had over SIX HUNDRED FIFTY hits for JUNE alone. You guys are totally awesome. (:**

**We are well on our way to getting through Angel Experiment. **

**So a couple quick questions: **

**How many of you _enjoy_ reading the nonreading chapters? I know I've gotten a few that_ love _them and a few that don't really hate, but don't really love either. **

**And:**

**What do you want to see happen?**

**I'd greatly appreciate the suggestions. (: **

**Please review!**

**Unless I was misinformed,**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	34. Chapter's 71, 72, & 73

**Chapter 34**

Once we'd gotten everything put away, showered, gotten into fresh clothing, and eaten Lunch, we'd all gathered back in the living room in our usual circle.

Nudge picked up the book and immediately started reading.

**Chapter 71** she read.

**I think if a twig had snapped right then, we all would have leaped ten feet into the air.**

** "You've sat on this since yesterday?" I ggy sounded outraged. "What's the matter with you? Just because you're the youngest doesn't mean you have to be the dumbest." **"Iggy!" Mom and Ella said in unison, he put his hands in the air in surrender.

**"Look," I said, taking a breath, "let's all calm down and let Angel talk," I brushed her curls out of her face. "Can you tell us everything you heard?"**

** "I only got bits and pieces," she said uncomfortably. "I'm sorry everybody. I've just felt yucky . . . and it all makes me really, really sad too. I don't wanna cry again. Awhh, I'm crying again."**

** "It's okay, Angel," Fang said in his low, quiet voice. "We understand. You're safe now, here with us."**

** Nudge looked as if she was about to explode, and I sent her a glance that said, _Okay, just hang on._ The Gasman edged closer to me and took hold of my belt loop for comfort. I put one arm around him and held on to Angel with the other.**

** "It sounded like," Angel began slowly, "we came from different places, different hospitals. But they got us after we were born. We _weren't _test-tube babies."**

** "How did they get us?" Fang asked. "And how did they get the bird genes into us?"**

** "I didn't really understand," said Angel. "it sounded like-like they got the genes into us _before_ we were born somehow." She rubbed her forehead. "With a test? An amino . . . ammo . . ."**

** "Amniocentesis?" ** **I asked, cold outrage creeping down my spine.**

** "Yeah," said Angel. "That's it. And somehow they got the ird genes into us with it."**

** "It's okay, just keep going," I said. I could explain it to them later.**

** "So we got born, and the doctors gave us to the School," Angel went on. "I heard – I heard that they told Nudge's mom and dad that she had died. But she hadn't."**

** Nudge made a gulping sound, her large brown eyes full of tears. "I _did _have a mom and dad," she whispered. "I _did!"_**

** "And Iggy's mom -"**

** I saw Iggy tense, his acute hearing focused on Angel's small voice.**

** "Died," Angel said, and took in a shuddering breath. "She died when he was born."** "Oh, Iggy," Ella said, "I'm so sorry."

Iggy shrugged, his sightless eyes tightened. "Doesn't matter, it wasn't true. But she's as good as dead to me."

** The look of stunned grief on Iggy's expressive face was awful to see. I didn't know what to do, what to say. I just wanted to take away everyone's pain. "What about us? The Gasman asked. "How could they get both of us, two years apart?**

** Angel wiped her eyes. "Our parents gave us to the School _themselves,"_ she said, and started crying again, her thin shoulders shaking.**

** The Gasman's mouth dropped open, his eyes as round as wheels. "What?"**

** "They _wanted _to help the School," Angel said, gasping out the words through her sobs. "They _let_ them put bird genes in us. And gave us away for money." **I felt Angel stiffen as she read her previous words. Her voice was shaking, like it did that one night.

** My heart was breaking. The Gasman tried so hard to be brave, but he was just a little kid. He leaned gainst me, burying his face in my shirt, and burst into tears.**

** "Did you hearing anything about me? Or Max?" Fang was stripping the bark off a stick. His tone was casual, but his shoulders were tight, his face stiff.**

** "Your mom thought you died, like Nudge," Angel said. "She was a teenager. Thy don't know who your dad was. But they told your mom you died."**

** The stick Fang was holding snapped in two, his knuckles white in the darkness. I saw pain in his dark eyes. Pain and sadness, and the reflection of our fire.**

** I cleared my throat. "What about me?" I 'd always dreamed of having a mom. Even – and this is so awesomely embarrassing that I'll never admit I said it – hoping that someday she would show up and be so wonderful and _marry Jeb._ **"I'm so glad that didn't happen." Ella and I said together. **And take care of all of us. I know. Pathetic isn't it?**

** Angel blinked up at me. "I didn't hear anything about you, Max. Nothing. I'm real sorry."**

Angel handed mom the book as she crawled into my lap. I stroked her hair as Gazzy leaned into Nudge and Nudge leaned into Iggy.

I glanced up at mom with a sad smile. "Would you please read the next chapter, mom?"

She nodded.

**Chapter 72**

"**I can't believe it," the Gasman said for the _thirtieth _time. "They gave us away. They must be sick. Sick jerks. I'm _glad_ I don't know them."**

** "I'm sorry, Gazzy," I said for the thirtieth time, digging down _deep_ for my last shred of patience. I totally, totally felt for him, but I had reached my limit about thirteen times ago.** Gazzy looked up at me, "Sorry, Max," he said. I reached over and ruffled his head of fluffy hair.

**Anyway, I ruffled his fine, light hair and hugged his shoulders. His face was dirty and streaked with tears. I wished we could just go back to our mountain house. The Erasers knew where it was, had swarmed all over it. We could never go back. But right now, I so wished I could just stick Gazzy under a hot shower, then tuck him into bed.**

** Those days were gone, baby.**

** "Angel? It's late, sweetie. Why don't you try to get some sleep? Actually, we could all use an early night."**

** "I'm going to sleep too," said Nudge, her voice still thick from crying. "I just want this day to end."**

** I blinked. That was the shortest sentence I'd ever heard her utter.**

** The six of us gathered around. I held out my left fist, and Fang put his on top of it, and everyone else did too. When we had a stack, we tapped the backs of one another's fists with our right hands. **

** We always do it, wherever we are. Habit.**

** Angel curled up in her spot, and I covered her with my sweatshirt. The Gasman lay down next to her, and then Nudge settled down too. I knelt next to herand tucked her collar around her neck.**

** I almost always go to sleep last – like I have to make sure everyone else is down. I started to bank the fire, and Fang came and helped me.**

** "So maybe you were hatched after all," Fang said. **Ella struggled in vain to hold in a giggle. "That's the silliest thing I've ever heard." I shrugged then gave a weak attempt at a smile.

"Yeah, it was."

**The six of us had always teased one another, saying we'd hatched out of eggs.**

** I laughed drily. "Yeah. Maybe so. Maybe they found me in a cabbage patch."**

** "In a way, you're lucky," he said quietly. "Not knowing is better."**

** I hate the way he can read my mind, since he doesn't even have mind-reading abilities.**

** "It leaves all the possibilities open," he went on. "Your story could be worse, but could also be a hell of a lot better."**

** He sat back on his heels, watching the fire, and then extended his wings a bit to warm them. "A teenager, jeez," he said in disgust. "She was probably a crack addict or something."**

** He never would have said that if the others were awake. Some things we trusted only each other to understand.**

** "Maybe not," I said, covering the fire with ashes. "Maybe she was a nice kid who just made a mistake. At least she wanted to actually wait the nine months and have you. Maybe she would have kept you or let a really nice family adopt you."**

** Fang snorted in disbelief. "On the one hand, we have a mythical nice family that wants to adopt me. On the other, we have a gang of insane scientists desperate to do genetic experiments on innocent children. Guess which hand I get dealt?"**

** Tiredly, he lay down next to Gazzy and closed his eyes, one arm over his forehead.**

** "I'm sorry, Fang," I mouthed silently.**

** I lay down myself, reaching out my foot to touch Nudge, putting an arm around Angel. I was too tired to worry about my brain attack earlier. Too tired to wonder how we would find the Institute in New York. Too tired to care about saving the world. **"Now you're making me tired," Ella said trying to stifle a yawn, causing us to laugh.

I smiled at her, this time it was better. She took the book from mom and started to read the next chapter.

**Chapter 73**

"**You!" I said loudly. "Up and at 'em!" **"With the dawn comes a new day, with a new day comes a new, fresh and loud Max." I said with a grin, ruffling Angel's curls.

**You'll be relieved to hear that my brief descent into weary lack of caring was totally gone by the time the sun fried my eyelids the next morning.**

** I got up, started the fire going again – because that's the kind of selfless, wonderful leader I am – then started affectionately kicking the flock awake.** Mom smiled and Fang's lips twitched just a bit.

**There was much grumbling and groaning, which I ignored, instead carefully balancing a pan of Jiffy Pop popcorn over a branch on the fire. Popcorn for breakfast! Why not? It's a _grain_. It's like, like, _grits,_ but with high self-esteem.** Everyone laughed. What can I say? I have a way with words.

**Plus, no one can sleep through the machine-gun sound of popcorn popping. Soon the rest of the flock was gathering glumly around the fire, rubbing sleep out of their eyes.**

** "We're headed for the Big Apple, guys. The city that never sleeps. I think we're maybe six, seven hours away."**

** Twenty minutes later, we were taking off, one by one. I was last, after Angel, and I ran about twenty feet, then leaped into the air, beating my wings hard. I was maybe ten feet off the ground when it happened again:** I winced, mom cringed, Fang's eyes tightened. Ella kept reading worriedly.** Some unseen force shoved an unseen railroad spike through my skull.**

** I cried out, falling, then smacked into the ground hard enough to knock my breath away.**

** I curled up in a fragile ball of pain, holding my head, feeling tears dripping down my cheeks, trying not to scream.** "Yeah, that didn't work to well, did it?" I asked. And received five shaking heads.

** "Max?" Fang's gentle fingers touched my shoulder. "Is it like before?"**

** I couldn't even nod. It was all I could do to hold my head together so my brains wouldn't splatter all over my friends. A high, keening sound reached my ears. _It was me._** Mom eyed me worriedly.

** Behind my eyes, bursts of red an orange flooded my brain, as if fireworks were exploding inside me. Then it was as though someone had jacked a movie screen directly into my retinas: Lightning-fast images shot through me so fast it made me feel sick. I could hardly make them out: _blurred buildings, fuzzy landscapes, unrecognizable people's faces, food, headlines from papers, old stuff in black-and-white, psychedelic stuff, swirly patters . . _.** "Whoa," everyone said.

"Trippy."

"That's insane," Ella said, "are you going insane?" I laughed maniacally. Ella looked at Fang.

Fang looked at her. "You tell me."

** I don't know how long it went on – years? Gradually, gradually, I realized I could move, and as soon as I could, I crawled over to some bushes and barfed my guts up. **

** Then I lay gasping, feeling like death. It was a while before I could open my eyes and see blue sky, puffy white clouds – and five worried faces.**

** "Max, what is the _matter _with you?" Angel said, sounding as scared as she looked.**

** "Think you should see a doctor?" Fang asked mildly, but his eyes were piercing.**

** "Oh, yes, _that's_ a good idea," I said weakly. "We need to let _more_ people in authority know about us."**

** "Look," Fang began, but I cut him off.**

** "I'm okay now," I said, lying through my teeth. **"Hmph." Fang said. **"Maybe it's a stomach bug or something." Yeah, the kind you get when your whole genetic makeup is about to unravel. The bug you get before you die.**

** "Let's just go to New York," I said. **

Ella handed me the book. "That was . . . interesting." She settled.

I laughed again. "Just you wait," I said. "It gets better in New York. Just wait till you see – well hear about – all the stuff that goes through my brain."

**AN: **

**Well guys? I did it! I managed to update two times in the same week. (: That's a pretty good accomplishment for me, don't ya think?**

**Let's see if I can keep it up. **

**I think there was some confusion last AN about what I meant by the question about reading and nonreading chapters.**

**I just want to say this: Nonreading chapters will be few and far between. There'll still be some, but you don't have to worry, this story is going to be mainly reading, with a few nonreading thrown in for good measure. (:**

**Oh and a hint: You can tell if it's reading or not by the title. Nonreadings will be Of _ and _. Readings will have chapter names. :)**

**Review and tell me if you enjoyed this chapter! ^_^**

**Until next time,**

**~Jezebel Raewin**


	35. Chapter's 74 & 75

**Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. :'(**

I took the book from Ella and started to read, thinking of our adventures in the Big Apple. A small smile came to my face as I read.

**Chapter 74**

**After giving me a long, level look, Fang shrugged and motioned to the Gasman to take off. Reluctantly, he did, and the others followed. "After you," Fang said, jerking his thumb toward the sky. **"Awe," Nudge and Ella said together. "He wants to be there to catch Max if she falls."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I muttered as Fang glared at them, but I could tell it was true by the way his knee rested against my own.

**Gritting my teeth, I got to my feet and ran shakily, opening my wings and leaping into the air again, half braced for another explosion of pain. But it was okay. I still felt like I might hurl, and I thought about how awful that would be in midair. **Everyone grimaced at that, but Iggy snickered. "Imagine the poor people below." I rolled my eyes and Ella playfully smacked him upside the head.

**"Are you okay?"** "Since when is Max never okay?" Ella said, but Fang corrected her. "Since when does Max _say_ she's _not_ okay?"

**Nudge asked once we were airborne. I nodded.**

** "I've been thinking about my mom and dad, she said. Her tawny wings beat in unison with mine, so we just hardly missed each other on the downstrokes. "I bet – if they've been thinking I died eleven years ago, then I bet they would be pretty happy to see me again, right? I mean, if all this time they wished I had gone home with them and grown up – then they would be pretty happy to see me, wouldn't they?"** Mom smiled sweetly at Nudge, who had been thoughtful for a while. I could tell we would need to have a discussion later on. And honestly, I've been doing some thinking about parents too, but we'll get to that later.

**I didn't say anything.**

** "Unless . . . " She frowned. "I mean – I guess I'm not what they would be expecting, huh? It's not my fault or anything, but I mean, I've got _wings_."**

** _Yep_, I thought.**

** "They might not want me if I have wings and am so weird and all," Nudge said, her voice dropping. "Maybe they just want a normal daughter, and if I'm weird, they wouldn't want me back anyway. What do you think, Max?"**

** "I don't know, Nudge," I said. "It seems like if they're your parents, then they should love you no matter what, even if you're different."**

** I thought about how Ella had accepted me just the way I was, wings, weirdness, and all. And Dr. Martinez was always going to be my perfect image of a mom. She'd accepted me too.**

I felt my mom and half-sister beaming at me.

**Now I was gulping, trying not to cry. Because I hadn't experienced _enough_ emotion already this morning. I muttered a swear word to myself. After I'd heard Angel cussing like a sailor when she stubbed her toe, my new resolution was to watch my language. All I needed was a six-year-old mutant with a potty mouth.** Mom frowned, and I could practically see what she was thinking. _Oh, goodness, that would _not_ be good._ I smiled.

**I thought about how Ella and her mom and I had made chocolate-chip cookies. From scratch. **"Oh great, Max," Gazzy whimpered, "You're going to make me hungry!" Nudge bobbed her head, as Iggy got up and walked to the kitchen. I heard him mutter _keep reading_.

**From, like, a bag of flour and real eggs. Not store-bought, not even slice 'n' bake. The way they'd smelled when they were baking was in-cred-i-ble. I had smelled like – home. Liek what a real home should smell like.**

** They'd been the best dang cookies I'd ever had. **  
And now everyone's mouths were watering. Including my own. Angel was laughing to herself at something someone thought. Iggy walked back in the room as I handed the book to Fang.

Before Fang started reading, Iggy passed out plates and cups of milk. Then the best smell you could ever imagine was wafting all around us. "Iggy." I said. "You. Are. My. Hero."

He smiled, "They'll be ready after the next chapter." Fang obliged by reading.

**Chapter 75**

"**Oh, my God," I muttered, staring at the lights below us. Most of New York City is at the bottom part of a long, thin island – Manhattan Island, actually. You could tell exactly where it began and ended, because suddenly the dark landscape was ablaze with lights. Streaming pears of headlights moved slowly through the arteries of the city. It looked like every window in every building had a light burning.**

"Pretty good description," Mom said. "I've only seen it a few times from the sky. And only one of them was at night. But that just about covers it."

Ella humphed, "I've never been to New York."

Well, then. I thought to myself. Looks like next family trip is on me. I smiled as it started to come together in my head. *

** "That's a _lot_ of people," Fang said, coming up beside me.**

** I knew what he was thinking: We all tend to get a little claustrophobic, a little paranoid when we're around lots of people. Not only had Jeb constantly warned us about interacting with anyone for any reason, but there was always the possibility that one of those strangers could suddenly morph into an Eraser. **"This must have been _hell_ for you guys." Ella said. Iggy nodded fervently, I nodded less enthusiastically and Fang just bobbed his head. Meanwhile, the younger guys were all. "Are you kidding me? It was awesome!" Gazzy had to clamp his hand over Nudge's mouth after that so she didn't go off in a thousand directions at once.

**"Oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh," Nudge was saying excitedly. "I want to go down there! I want to walk on Fifth Avenue! I want to go to museums!" She turned to me, her face alithgt with anticipation. "Do we have any money left? Can we get something to eat? Can we, like, go shopping?" **

** "We have some money," I told her. "We can get something to eat. But remember, we're here to find the Institute."**

** Nudge nodded, but I could tell half of my words had gone right out her other ear.**

** "What's that sound?" Iggy asked, concentrating. "_It's music. _Is there music below us? How could we hear it, way up here?"**

** Central Park was a big, relatively dark rectangle below us. At one end, in a clearing, I could see an enormous crowd of people. Huge floodlights were shining over them.**

** "I think it must be a concert," I told Iggy. "In the park. An outdoor concert."**

** "Oh, so cool!" Nudge said. "Can we go? Please, Max, please? A real concert!" If it's possible for someone to bounce up and down with excitement while flying, Nudge was doing it.** Angel giggled with Ella as they pictured Nudge bouncing in the air.

** The park was pretty dark. There were hundreds of thousands of people down there. Even Erasers would have a hard time finding us in that crowd.**

** I made an executive decision. "Yes. Try to come down right behind a floodlight's beam, so we won't be seen."**

** We landed silently **"Oh, I see," Fang said. "When it's us as a group, we land _silently. _But when it's just one of us, it's _almost _silently?"

I looked at him, "Are you _still _hung up on that?" I patted his knee. "It'll be okay, Fang, it really will." **among a group of thick-trunked oaks.**

** We took a moment to shake out our legs, and fold in our wings and cover them with windbreakers. After a quick head count, I led the way toward the crowd, trying to look casual, like, _Fly? Me? Nah._ **"Sorry, Max," Ella said with a laugh. "But that was hilarious."

**The music was unbelievably loud: Speakers taller than Iggy were stacked on top of one another, three high. Tome it felt as if the actual ground was vibrating. **"It was," Iggy called from the kitchen where he was cooling the cookies down. "It was also annoying. I hated New York."

Ella gasped and said, "Oh, Ig, no! New York is wonderful! So many sights to-"

"See?" he cut her off, "Yeah, exactly. Not to mention the way to many things to _hear._ I felt utterly lost." He sat down next to her while Fang read the rest of the chapter.

**"What concert is this?" I ggy asked, yelling in my ear.**

** I peered over tens of thousands of heads to see the raised stage. Thanks to my raptorlike vision, I had no trouble making out the musicians. And a banner that said Natalie and Trent Taylor. "It's the Taylor Twins," I reported, and most of the flock whooped and whistled. They loved the Taylor Twins.**

** Angel kept close to me, her small hand in mine, as we stood among the crowd. We were enough on the edge that we avoided the sardine effect of the people closer to the stage. I think we all would have freaked out if we'd been that hemmed in. **The flock gave a collective shudder.

**That unable to move. Iggy put the Gasman on his shoulders and gave him his lighter to burn, like thousands of other people. The Gasman swayed in time to the music, holding the lighter high.**

** Once he looked down at me, and his face was so full of happiness I almost started crying. How often had I seen him look like that? Like, twice? In eight years?**

** We listened to Natalie and Trent until the concert ended. As soon as the rivers of people began to flow past us, we melted into the shadows of the trees. The branches above us were thick and welcoming. We flew up into them, settling comfortably. **"I don't think I'll ever get used to the fact that my sister likes to sleep in trees." Ella said laughing.

**"That was awesome," Nudge said happily. "I can't believe how many people there are, all crowded into one place. I mean, listen. . . . _There's no silence, ever._ I can hear people and traffic and sirens and dogs barking. I mean, it was always so quiet back at home."**

** "Too quiet," said the Gasman.**

** "Well, I hate it," Iggy said flatly. "When it's quiet, I can tell where the heck things are, people are, where echoes are bouncing off. Here I'm just surrounded with a thick, smothering wall of sound. I want to get out of here."**

** "Oh, Iggy, no!" Nudge cried. "This place is so cool. You'll get used to it."**

** "We're here to find out what we can about the Institute," I reminded both o them. "I'm sorry, Iggy, but maybe you'll get a little more used to it soon. And Nudge, this isn't a pleasure trip. Our goal is to find the Institute."**

** "How are we gonna do that?" Angel asked.**

** "_I have a plan,_" I said firmly. God, I was really going to have to get all this lying under control.** Fang passed the book to Nudge as Iggy passed the cookies out.

**AN: Sooo, I'm kind of breaking my schedule. But I'll still update on Tuesday! ^_^ I know there are only two chapters read in this one, but that just means that later on I'll have four chapters being read later on. ^_^ Bonus! ^_^**

**I just gotta say, one of the main reasons I have these two done so fast is because Scarlet Daydreamer. :D And Icy. And Fire. :D You guys are awesome. Here's to you! **

**Until Tuesday,**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	36. Chapter's 76, 77, & 78

I happily and thoughtfully munched on a cookie as Nudge read the next chapter eagerly.

**Chapter 76**

**Basically, if you put a fence around New York City, you'd have the world's biggest nontraveling circus.**

"Basically," Iggy said and Ella giggled lightly around her cookie.

**When we woke up at dawn the next morning, there were already joggers, bicyclers, even horseback riders weaving their way along the miles and miles of trails in Central Park. We slipped down out of the trees and casually wandered the paths.**

Ella laughed, trying to picture her winged family trying to blend in with all the wacko's in Central Park.

**Within an hour, speed skaters were rushing by, street performers were setting up their props, and the paths were almost crowded with dog walkers and moms pushing jogging strollers.**

** "That lady has six white poodles!" Nudge hissed behind her hand. "Who needs six white poodles?" **Mom laughed, "That's New York for you."

**"Maybe she sells them," I suggested, "to kids with big wide eyes."**

** "Something smells awesome," Iggy said, swiveling his head to detect the source. "What is that? It's over there." **"I love it when you do that," Gazzy said, hi-fiving Iggy. Ella smiled.** He pointed off to my left.**

** "There's a guy selling food," I said. "It says honey-roasted peanuts."**

** "I am so there," said Iggy. "Can I have some money?"**

** Iggy, Angel, and I went to buy six small bags of honey-roasted peanuts (they really did smell like heaven), and Fang, Nudge, and the Gasman went to look at a clown selling baloons.**

** We were walking over to join them when something about the clown caught my eye. She was watching a sleek, dark-haired guy strolling down a path. Their gazes met.** "Oh, crap." Mom said, throwing her head in her hands. Ella stiffened.

**A chill went down my back. Just like that, my enjoyment of the day burst. I was swept into fear, anger, and an intense self-preservation reflex.**

** "Iggy, heads up," I whispered. "Get the others."**

** Beside me, Angel was wound tight, her hand clenching mine hard. We walked fast toward the others. Fang, doing an automatic sweep of the area, saw my urgent expression. In the next moment he had clamped a hand on Nudge's and the Gasman's shoulders and spun them around to walk quickly away.** "Oh, no," Mom muttered quietly.

"Don't walk to fast, they'll know something's up!" Ella said. I rolled my eyes, but she was probably right. "On a side note," she continued, "I wonder how many people you guys either made crash or almost ran into." I rolled my eyes at her again.

**We met on the path and sped up our pace. One glance behind me showed the dark-haired guy following us. He was joined by a woman who looked just as intent and powerful as he did. **

** A flow of heroically suppressed swear words ran through my brain. I scanned the scenery for escape routes, a place where we could take off, a place to duck and cover.**

** _They were gaining on us._**

** "Run!" I said. The six of us can run faster than most grown men, but the Erasers had also been genetically enhanced. If we couldn't find an out, we were done for.**

** Now there were three of them – they'd been joined by another male-model type. They had broken into an easy trot and were closing the space between us.**

** Paths merged into other paths, sometimes narrowing, sometimes widening. Again and again, we almost crashed into bikers or skaters going too fast to swerve. **Looking back, it was kind of comical seeing the faces. I let out a laugh and Fang raised an eyebrow.

_Excuse me? _His eyes told me.

_Think about it,_ I tried to tell him. _Do you remember the faces of those poor people?_

_ I'm sorry, but I was too busy making sure we didn't get destroyed by the Erasers._

I rolled my eyes._ Yeah, and who was it that ended up leading us into the zoo?_

He shrugged and I felt the eyes of the others on us.

"Can we please continue reading? Or would you two love birds like a minute alone?" Nudge asked sweetly. We both glared at her and she winced and continued reading.

**"Four of them," Fang said. "Pour it on, guys!""**

** We sped up. They were maybe twenty yards behind us. Hungry grins marred their good-looking faces.**

** "_Six_ of them!" I said.**

** "They're too fast," **"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Ella muttered.

Fang shrugged, "I try."

**Fang informed me unnecessarily. "Maybe we should fly."**

** I bit my lip, keeping a tight grip on Angel's hand. _What to do, what to do. They were closer, and even closer -_**

**"Eight of them!" said Fang**

Nudge quickly handed the book to the Gasman who gladly started reading, as he remembered where we wound up after this little chase scene.

**Chapter 77**

"_**Left!" **_**Iggy said, and without question we all hung a sudden left. How he knew it was there, I have no idea. **"Oh, I can tell you that one, Max," Iggy said. "I could hear the echoes, kind of like a bat, and well, with the echolocation I could tell that there was a nice opening right there." I rolled my eyes and reached over to smack his head.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I muttered.

**Our path suddenly opened into a wider plaza surrounded by vendors selling all kinds of stuff. Some brick buildings were on the left, and a big crowd of kids was passing through a metal gate.**

** I caught a glimpse of a sign: Central Park Zoo.** "Oh, man," Ella said. "You guys have extreme luck on both sides!" I glanced at her.

"Yeah, you know, I guess that's true."

**"Merge!" I whispered, and just like that, we melted smoothly into the horde of schoolkids. Fang, Iggy, Nudge, and I ducked down to be shorter, and we all wormed our way into the middle of the group, so we were surrounded by other kids. None of them seemed to think it was weird we were here – there must have been more than two hundred of them being herded through the gate.**

** I repressed an urge to moo **"To moo?" Mom asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah," I said, "it felt like we were cows being herded into the next pasture."

"Like in Germany," Nudge offered with a half smile, half frown. I smiled at her.

"Yeah, like in Germany."

**and peeped over a girl's shoulder. The Erasers had spread out and were searching for us, looking frustrated.**

** One of the big creeps tried to push past the policeman at the zoo gate, but the cop blocked his way. "School day only," I heard him say. "No unauthorized adults. Oh, you're a chaperone? Yeah? Shoe me your pass."**

** With a low snarl, the Eraser backed away and rejoined his companions. I grinned: stopped in his tracks by a New York cop. Go, boys in blue!**

** We reached the entry gate: **_**the moment of truth.**_

** We got waved in!**

** "Pass, pass, pass," the gate person muttered, motioning us through without looking at us.**

** Inside the zoo, we scrambled off to one side, then paused for a moment and slapped high fives.**

** "Yes!" the Gasman said. "School day only! Yes! I love this place!"  
"The zoo!" Nudge said, practically quivering with excitement. "I've always wanted to see a zoo! I've read about 'em – I've seen them on TV. This is so great! Thanks, Max."**

** I hadn't had anything to do with it, but I smiled and nodded: magnanimous Max.**

** "Come on, let's get farther in," said Iggy, sounding nervous. "Put some distance between us and them. Jeez, was that a lion? Please tell me it's behind bars."**

"Of course, it's behind bars, Ig," Ella said, rubbing his arm.

** "It's a **_**zoo, **_**Iggy," Nudge said, taking his arm and leading him. "**_**Everything**_** is behind bars."**

** Like we used to be.**

Gazzy finished the chapter with a sigh. "Here, Ang," he muttered, "You get the good chapter."

Angel thanked him and started the next chapter.

**Chapter 78**

"**Oh, man, look at the polar bear!" The Gasman pressed his face against the glass of the enclosure, watching as the huge white bear swam gracefully in its big pool. The bear had an empty steel beer keg to play with, which it was batting through the water.** "Awe," Ella said.

"I remember that bear!" Angel said with a grin. "It was having a _great _time."

**I'll just tell you flat out: We'd never seen any of these animals before, not in real life. We didn't grow up going on field trips, having Sunday outings with the 'rents. This was a completely different, foreign world, where kids swarmed freely through a zoo, animals were in habitats and weren't undergoing genetic grafting, and we were strolling along, not hooked up to EEG monitors and blood pressure cuffs. **I shivered and leaned into Fang as he leaned into me. I laid a hand on Iggy's arm as he took in a shuddering breath. We were the ones who'd gone through the most testing. Nudge and the others had gone through plenty in their time, but we were the three oldest. We'd been there the most amount of time, and let me just say, time doesn't heal everything.

**It was wild.**

** Like this bear. Two bears, actually. A big main bear and a smaller backup bear.**__Everyone laughed at my description. **They had a pretty large habitat, with huge rocks, an enormous swimming pool, toys to play with.**

** "Man," said Gazzy wistfully. "I'd love to have a pool."**

** Or, hey! Houw about a house? Safety? Plenty of food?**

** Those were about as impossible as a swimming pool. I reached out and rubbed Gazzy's shoulder. "That would be really cool," I agreed.**

** All these animals,even though they were stuck in enclosures, probably **

** bored out of their minds, possibly lonely, still had it so much better than we'd had it at the School. I felt edgy and angry, coming off my adrenaline high after being chased by the Erasers. Seeing all these animals made me remember too much about when I was little, when I lived in a cage so small I couldn't stand up.**

** Which reminded me: We were here to find the Institute, whatever that was. In just a short while, we might know who we were, where we came from, how our whole lives had happened.**

"And so much for fun times with the flock." Ella said.

**I rubbed my hand across my mouth, really starting to feel twtchy and kind of headachy. But Nudge ,the Gasman, Angel, and Iggy were having a great time. Nudge was describing everything to Iggy, and they were laughing and running around. Just like normal kids. I mean, except for the retractable wings and all.**

** "This place gives me the creeps," Fang said.**

** "You too? I'm going nuts," I admitted. "It's flashback city. And I have-" I started to say "a headache," but then didn't want to complain or have Fang tell me to see a doctor again "an overwhelming desire to set all these animals free."**

** "Free to do what?" Fang asked drily.**

** "Just to be **_**out,**_** to escape," I said.**

** "Out in the middle of Manhattan?" Fang pointed out. "Free to live without protection, without someone bringing them food, with no idea of how to take care of themselves? They're better off here. Unless you want to fly to Greenland with a polar bear on your back." ** "That would be awesome." Ella said and I shook my head at her.

**Logic is just so incredibly annoying sometimes. I shot Fang a look and went to round up everyone.**

** "Can we leave?" I asked them, trying not to whine. Very unbecoming in a leader. "I just – want to get out of here."**

** "You look kind of green," the Gasman said with interest**. That earned a number of laughs.

**I **_**was**_** starting to feel nauseated. "Yeah. Can we split before I upchuck in front of all these impressionable kids?"**

** "Over here," Fang said, motioning us to a big crevice between two huge manufactured rocks. It led back to a patch that must have been for the zookeepers –- it was empty and roped off.**

** I managed to get out of there without crashing, screaming, or throwing up. **"Well that must have been a nice change," mom said.

**What a nice change.**

I laughed along with mom. Gazzy set the book down and looked around.

"Well, I've got to get ready for work," mom said sadly. "But maybe we can read again tonight before bed? Iggy, you've got dinner. Max, don't let my house get destroyed, okay?"

**AN:**

**Wow. I'm sorry guys, I had planned on having this up earlier today, but at least it _was_ posted on Tuesday! *smiles sheepishly in hopes that you won't be mad***

**Sorry if there wasn't a whole lot of dialogue in parts; I couldn't think of anything to have them say. :/ **

**Anyway, review if you liked it, review if you didn't. Either way, I want you to review! :D**

**Oh and for all you PJO fans: You should check out Reading Into the Future. If you have already, and if you've read the sequel to it (RITF:TLO) Then you should check out my oneshot! I wrote it as for a challenge that the author (Starlight Silvernight) had added at the end of one of the chapters. If that made any sense, and if you know what I'm talking about, then check it out.**

**It's called: The Comfort of a Brother.**

**Now back to the MaxRide world:**

**I want to know if you liked the chapter and if not, what parts you didn't like. Okay? ^_^**

**Until next time,**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	37. Chapter's 79, 80, & 81

**Disclaimer: It's called a disclaimer for a reason. I dis the claim that I own Maximum Ride.**

The day passed quickly with nothing happening other than the usual thing. So, naturally, I had to separate Nudge and Gazzy, not once, but _three_ times – then I had to make sure Total didn't bother anything. _God, I have _got_ to get us our own place soon._

This afternoon, I had _tried_ to get some time alone on the roof to think. On my list of things to think about were: 1) the Flock – we'd been safe for a while, but how long will it last? 2) Family – looking back on all this has told me one thing: All the previous information we had could have been wrong. Which means there might still be a family out there for four of my flock members. 3)What this might mean for all of us. 4) Home – as great as staying at moms has been, I just think we could really use our own place.

More on all that later.

Mom got home an hour ago and we were giving everybody some time to get ready to read. In other words giving mom some time to eat dinner and actually _breathe_ before it was time to read.

As we settled ourselves around the living room Ella picked up the book and started to read.

**Chapter 79** She read.

"**You know what I like about New York?" the Gasman said, noisily chewing his kosher hot dog. "It's full of New Yorkers who are freakier than we are."** We laughed at the trueness – truthfulness? - of that statement.

**"So we blend?" Iggy asked.**

** I glanced over at him. He was licking an ice-cream cone that was like a mini him: **"What are you trying to say?" Iggy asked sternly, but then his face softened into a smile. "Awe, you think I'm sweet."

I hit him upside the head. Ella laughed reading the next line. **tall, thin, and vanilla. **Mom laughed too.

**He was already just over six feet tall – not bad for a fourteen-year-old. With his height, his pale skin, and his light reddish-blond hair, I'd always felt he was the most visible of all of us. But here on this broad avenue, we were surrounded by gorgeous supermodels, punk rockers, Goths, and leather-ites, suits, students, people from every other country – and, well, yeah, six kids with bulky windbreakers, ratty clothes, and questionable hygiene didn't really stick out.**

** "More or less," I said. "Of course, that won't help with the Erasers." Automatically, I did a perimeter sweep, a 360 around us to pick up signs of trouble.**  
"Oh, please don't tell me you meet someone so soon after the incident before the zoo?" Mom said throwing her head in her hands. I smiled and she groaned.

"Don't worry, Dr. M," Fang said. "If I remember right, then we didn't run into them again for a couple days." She sighed.

"That's the least I can hope for with you, isn't it?" I nodded in time with Fang.

** "Speaking of which," Fang said, "we seem to be dealing with version 6.0."**

** "I was thinking the same thing," I said. "This year's crop looks more human. And there are females. Which is a bummer."** "Why's that a bummer?" Ella asked.

"It increases our chances of running into one," I said and she nodded slowly, trying to work it out in her head.

**Even as I said the words, I was examining every face we passed, looking for a hint of feral sleekness, a cruel light in the eyes, a hard slash of a mouth.**

** "Yeah. We all know how bloodthirsty females are. Dirty fighting and so on," Fang said.** Iggy laughed and high-fived Fang. I rolled my eyes.

**I rolled my eyes. What a comedian.**

** "Can I have a burrito?" Nudge asked as we approached yet another street vendor. She faced me, bouncing backward down the sidewalk. "What's a nish? I can have a burrito, right?"**

** "Ka-nish," I corrected her. "It's like a square of mashed potatoes, fried." I was scanning every building – for what, I didn't know. A big sign that said The Institute?**

** "What's sauerkraut?" Angel asked. **"Ew, never get that stuff," Ella said with a shudder and mom laughed. I'm sensing there was a story here. I raised an eyebrow at my sister and she looked at my mom. Meanwhile, mom tried to get over her sudden fit of the giggles. ***

**"You don't want it," I said. "Trust me."**

** We each got a burrito, hot and wrapped in foil.**

** "I like being able to just buy food as we walk along," Nudge said happily. **"Is there_ anything_ in New York that you didn't like?" Gazzy asked. Nudge thought for a second.

"Well, the sewers weren't that great," she said. "The people down there were interesting and creepy. I didn't like the … well, actually I liked that, too."

**"If you walk a couple blocks, there's someone selling food. And delis. I love delis! They're everywhere! Everywhere you go, there's everything you need: food, delis, banks, subway stops, buses, cool stores, fruit stands right on the street. This is the best place, I'm telling you. Maybe we should always live here."**

** "It would certainly be convenient for the Erasers," I said. "They wouldn't have to track us down in the middle of nowhere." **"Way to burst my bubble, Max," Nudge said, crossing her arms. The smile on her face told me she was joking.

"Well, someone had to do it," I muttered playfully, "It was getting to big." I popped an imaginary bubble around her and she started gasping for air. Angel quickly joined in by blowing a huge bubble that steadily covered Nudge. Nudge completely calmed down, thanked Angel then asked Ella to continue on with the book.

"I'm not even going to bother to ask," mom muttered to herself.

"Wise choice," Fang said, "I've lived with them my entire life and _still_ don't know what the heck their doing."

**Nudge frowned, and Angel took my hand.**

** "But you're right, Nudge," I said, sorry for raining on her parade. "I know what you mean." But it was costing money, and we were running out._ And we had a mission._**

** Suddenly I stopped dead, as if I'd been poleaxed.**

"What's wrong now?" Mom asked worriedly.

**Fang examined my face. "That pain?" he asked quietly, glancing around as if planning where to take me if I suddenly crumpled.**

** I shook my head and inhaled deeply. "**_**Cookies!"**_ Mom, along with everyone else burst out laughing. I crossed my arms with a 'hmph' while they carried on.

**He looked at me blankly.**

** I spun in a circle to see where the aroma was coming from. Duh. Right in front of us was a small red storefront. Mrs. Fields. **Ella's mouth dropped, "You had a _Mrs. Fields _cookie?" I smiled.

"Yeah, but it wasn't that great. I've had better." I beamed at mom.

**The scent of cookies right out of the oven wafted out onto the street. It smelled like Ella's house, like safety, like home.**

** "I must have cookies," I announced, and went into the store, Angel trotting by my side.**

** They were fabulous.**

** But not as good as homemade. **I don't think Moms smile could've gotten any bigger if I gave her the moon. She took the book from Ella and read eagerly.

** Chapter 80**

"**So what's your big plan for finding the Institute?" Iggy asked.**

** "I'm tired of walking," Nudge said. "Can we just sit for a minute?" Without waiting for an answer she sank onto some broad stone steps in front of a building. She rested her head in her hands and closed her eyes.**

** "Uh . . ." _Just walk around until we see it _ didn't seem like a good response. **"No, not really," Fang said. **But Iggy had hit the nail on the head: I didn't know how to find the Institute. I didn't know what it looked like or even, really, if it was in New York City.**

** The Gasman and Angel sat down next to Nudge. I was struck again by what incredibly cute kids they are **"Awe, thanks, Max." The three of them said in unison, cracking me up. - **for mutants. **Their sweet faces glared at me. "Gee, thanks." They said again, this time laying on the sarcasm.

**"How about a phone book?" Fang suggested. "Every once in a while I see one." **

** "Yeah, that's a possibility," I said, frustrated by not coming up with something better. We needed an information system of some kind – Like a computer we could hack into. A large marble lion caught my eye; this building had two of them. Very fancy-schmancy.**

** I blinked and saw four lions, like images superimposed on one another. They flickered in from of my eyes, and I shook my head a bit. I blinked again, and everything was normal. **"That was..." Mom said.

"Strange?"

"Weird?"

"Cool?"

"I don't even get to see one of everything. And you get to see two?" Iggy humphed.

A chill went down my spine; that was _not_ a pleasant feeling when that image was superimposed.

**A heavy weight settled on my chest – my brain was malfunctioning again.**

** "So what are we going to do?" I ggy asked.**

** _Yeah, leader, _lead.**

** Stalling for time, worried that my head might explode at any moment, I looked up at the building in front of us. **"And lo and behold," Ella said, "the Magnificent Max find the perfect place to rest and research! Just like that!" Iggy and the others chuckled. I nodded.

"That seems about right," I told her.

**It was called the New York Public Library of Humanities and Social Sciences. Hello. A _library._**

** I jerked my head at he building. "We're going to start in here," I said briskly, and clapped twice to get the younger set on its feet. "I figure they've got computers, databases . . ." I let my voice trail of and started purposefully up the steps Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel followed me.**

** "How does she do that?" I heard Fang as Iggy.**

"I'm just awesome like that," I said holding my head high. Only to have it bonked down again by Fang. He kissed the spot he hit.

"She can't help it," Mom said simply. "It runs in the family." Ella and I laughed as I took the book from Mom.

**Chapter 81 **I read.

**Inside, the library was awesome. None of us had **"Let me guess," Ella said.

"I'd feel better if I just read the rest of the sentence." I told her and she pouted.

** None of us had ever been inside one, and we were staring like the out-of-town yokels we were.**

** "May I help you?" A young guy was standing behind a polished wooden counter. He looked faintly disapproving, but not like he wanted to rip our lungs out, **"So," mom said a smirk on her face, "not an Eraser then?" **So I figured he wasn't an Eraser.**

** "Yes." I stepped forward, looking as serious and professional as a fourteen-year-old mutant who had never been in a library can look. "I was hoping to find information about a certain institute that I _think_ is in New York." I smiled at him, putting real warmth into it, and he blinked. "Unfortunately, I don't know the whole name or where in New York it is. Is there a computer I could use to search? Or some sort of database?"**

"Poor guy," Iggy said as Ella giggled.

I looked at them both.

"You've charmed him."

"I didn't do a think, actually," I told them. Iggy thought for a second then turned to look unseeingly at Angel. "It was all Angel of course."

**He glanced over all of us. Angel stepped up next to me and put her hand in mine. She smiled sweetly at the guy, looking, well, angelic.**

** "Fourth floor," the guy said after a pause. "There are computers in a room off the main reading room. They're free, but you have to sign in."**

** "Thank you so much," I said, smiling again. Then we hustled to the elevators.**

** The Gasman punched number four.**

** "Well, aren't you the charmer?" Fang muttered, not looking at me. **"Someone's jealous," I muttered. And he shrugged.

** "What?" I asked, startled, but he didn't say anything. We rode upward, hating being in a small enclosed space. Sweat was breaking out on my brow by the time the doors slid open on the fourth floor, and we leaped out as if the elevator had been pressurized.**

"Awesome mental image, Max," Fang and Gazzy muttered, rubbing their heads with their hands.

I shrugged, "I do what I can."

**We immediately found a bank of computers with instructions on how to surf the Net. All we had to do was sign in at the desk. I signed "Ella Martinez" **Ella looked taken back and shocked yet still pleased that I chose her name. **With a flourish, and the clerk smiled at me.**

** That was the last cheerful thing that happened for the next hour and a half. Fang and I searched in every way we could think of and found a million institutes of one kind of another, in Manhattan and throughout New York state, but none of them seemed promising. My favorite? The Institute for Realizing Your Pet's Inner Potential. **Everyone burst out laughing. There was no in the room except for the eight of us doubling over in laughter. It took us a while before anyone could speak. I started reading through my giggles.

**Anyone who can explain that to me, drop a line.**

** Angel was lying under the desk at our feet, murmuring quietly to herself. Nudge and the Gasman were playing hangman on a piece of scrap paper. Violence occasionally broke out, since neither of them could spell their way out of a paper bag.**

** Iggy was sitting motionless in a chair, and I knew he was listening to every whisper, every scraped chair, every rustle of fabric in the room, creating an invisible map of what was happening all around him. **"So were there any interesting conversations going on?" Ella asked curiously. Angel looked at Iggy with interested eyes.

"Well there was this one guy reading a book to himself but he was reading it in a falsetto. Then when the character changed, so did his voice. I think he was the most entertaining. But there was also this girl murmuring to herself about which book she should get and battling with herself over the possibilities of each." Everyone was laughing again.

**I typed in another search command, then watched in dismay as the computer screen blurred and crashed. A string of orange words, _fail, fail, fail, _scrolled across the screen before it finally went black and winked out.**

** "It's almost closing time, anyway," Fang said.**

** "Can we sleep here?" Iggy said softly. "It's so quiet. I like it in here."**

** "Uh, I don't think so," I said, looking around. I hadn't realized that most people had left – we were the only ones in the room. Except for a guard, in uniform, who had just spotted us. She started walking toward us, and something about her, her tightly controlled pace, made my inner alarms go off.**

** "Let's split," I muttered, pulling Iggy out of his chair.**

** We skittered out of there, found the stairs, and raced down as fast as we could. I was expecting Erasers at any moment. But we burst out into the dim late-afternoon light and ran down the stone steps without anyone following us.** "That's good." Mom said, letting out a deep breath as Fang took the book from me.

**AN: Hey guys! So what'd ya think? **

**I really appreciate all the reviews I've gotten! It makes me smile when my Inbox shows a few reviews so leave a few and I'll be ready to update on time again! ^_^ Who knows? I may be able to update earlier in the day next time. ^_^**

**So I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I enjoyed writing it. **

**Oh yeah, the *** in the story: Challenge! Who's up for one? Come up with a oneshot based off this one experience. Just a bit of Martinez fun. :) Let me know in your review if you want to. (:**

**Until next time!**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	38. Chapter's 82, 83, 84, & 85

Fang started to read

**Chapter 82**

**Can we take the subway back to the park?" Nudge asked tiredly. **"I thought you _liked_ the fact that we could walk everywhere in the big NYC?" Gazzy asked with a smug smile. Nudge humphed but smiled anyway.

**It was late. We'd decided to sleep in Central Park again. It was huge, dark, and full of trees.**

** "It's only eighteen blocks to walk," I said. **_"Only?_" Mom said shocked. "How far did you walk that day?"

"Eighteen blocks," Ella said helpfully. I rolled my eyes.

**But Angel was starting to fade too – she wasn't back to a hundred percent by a long shot. "Let's see how much it would cost."**

** Five steps down the subway entrance, I was already tense. Nudge, Angel, and the Gasman were too tired to hate being in an enclosed space, but Fang, Iggy, and I were twitching. **Iggy spazzed out beside Ella. "What?" He said, feeling our gazes rest on him. I chuckled.

**The fare was two dollars a person, except kids under forty-four inches, who were free. I looked at Angel. Even though she was only six, she was already over four feet tall. So that was twelve dollars.**

"How long did it take you to find the MaxRide Card?" Ella asked.

"It should be coming up soon," I said.

**Except the fare booth was empty. So we'd have to use the automatic fare machine. That is, if we were going to be troubled about a small think like hopping over the turnstile when no one was looking.**

** Once we were inside, ten minutes went by with no train. Ten loooong minutes with me feeling like I was about to start screaming and climbing the walls. **"That would have been something," Fang muttered and Iggy laughed.

"You know you were feeling it too," I said.

"That may be, but you have one of the craziest imaginations I've ever gotten to look into."

"Of course it is," Angel said. "You've only ever looked into your own imagination. It's my job to see everyone else's imagination."

**If we'd been followed, if Erasers came . . . **

** I saw Iggy turn his head, listening to something from inside the dark tunnel.**

** "What?" I asked.**

** "People," he answered. "In there."**

** "Workers?" **

** "I don't think so."**

** I peered into the blackness. Now that I concentrated, I could hear voices too. And way down the line, I saw what looked like the flickering of a fire – its reflected glow from around a bend in the tunnel.**

** I made a snap decision. **"Oh, crap," Ella said. "Not another one."

"Gee, thanks, Ell."

**which always makes the flock feel so safe and comfortable. **Iggy scoffed. Angel smiled thought. "I trust you, Max."

**"Let's go," I said, and I jumped off the platform and onto the tracks leading into the darkness.**

Fang handed the book silently to Nudge.

**Chapter 83** she read.

"**What does that mean?" **"Um, that this is the eighty-third chapter?" Gazzy said, Nudge extended her wing a bit to whap him.

**The Gasman asked, pointing at a small metal plaque that said Stay off the third rail!**

** "It means the third rail has seven hundred volts of direct current running through it," Fang said. "Touch it and you're human popcorn."** There was a _lot_ of laughter as we remembered this, not including the laughter from Mom and El.

**"Okay," I said. "Good tip. Everyone stay off the third rail."**

** Then I shot Fang a look that said, Thank you for that lovely image. He almost grinned at me.**

** Iggy felt the train first. "Everyone off the rails," he said, standing still until I took his arm. We all stepped over to a yucky, disgusting wall and pressed ourselves as flat against it as possible. **

** Thirty seconds later, a train rushed past so fast that it's slipstream made us sway toward it. I kept my knee shoved against Angel so she wouldn't be pulled off her feet.**

** "Well, that was fairly nerve-racking," I said as we gingerly peeled ourselves off the wall.**

** "Who's there?" The voice was querulous, aggressive, and rough, as if its owner had spent the last fifty years smoking cigarettes. Maybe he had.**

** We walked forward, on the alert, wings starting to unfold a tiny bit in case we needed to go airborne. **"Where would you have gone?" Mom asked. "You're in a _tunnel._"

"Easier to move, faster than walking." I shrugged. Honestly, I was glad we didn't need to do that after all.

**"Nobody," I called convincingly as we turned the bend of the tunnel.**

** "Whoa," the Gasman breathed.**

** Before us was a city. A small, ragged city in Manhattan's basement. Groups of people clotted a large concrete cavern. The ceiling was three stories above us and dripped with paint stalactites and humid condensation.**

** Several unwashed faces looked towards us, and someone said, "Not cops. _Kids._"**

** They turned away, uninterested, except for one woman who seemed to be wearing about five layers of clothing. "You got food?" she barked.**

** Silently, Nudge pulled a napkin-wrapped knish out of her pocket and handed it over. The woman sniffed it, looked at it, then turned her back to us and started eating.**

** Here and there the cavern was dotted with fifty-gallon oil drums in which people had made fires. It was a warm night, but the fires provided the only light and helped get rid of the dank chill that was creeping up my legs.**

** It was a whole new world, made up of homeless people, people who didn't fit in anywhere, runaways . . . We saw a handful of kids who looked around our age. **"That's so terrible," Ella said. Mom had covered her mouth with her hand.

**I realized that my head was aching. It had been growing worse all evening, and now I just wanted to sleep.**

** "Over there," said the knish woman, pointing. We looked and saw a narrow concrete ledge built into a wall. It was hundreds of feet long, and people were sleeping on it, sitting on it, marking off there territory with old blankets or cardboard boxes. The woman had pointed out a thirty-foot-long section that seemed unoccupied. **"You've slept in tree's, on the ground, in crates, and on a concrete ledge?" Ella asked.

"Oh, don't forget the boat, and the hotel's we've gotten to stay at. And we _have_ slept in beds." Nudge said.

"Don't forget the yoga mats, and the submarine," Angel said.

"Oh, and we've slept on the sand," added Gazzy.

"Some of us have slept in a plane," I felt the urge to say.

** I looked at Fang, and he shrugged. It wasn't as nice as the park, but it was warm, dry, and seemed somewhat safe. We scrambled up the ledge, with me boosting Angel. Keeping our backs to everyone, we stacked our fists and tapped twice. Almost instantly, Nudge lay down, pillowing her head on her hands.**

** Fang and I sat with our backs against the wall. I dropped my head into my hands and started rubbing my temples.**

** "You okay?" Fang asked.**

** "Yeah," I muttered. "I'll be better tomorrow."**

** "Go to sleep," said Fang. "I'll take the first watch."**

** I gave him a grateful smile, and soon I was out, out, out – with no idea how we would ever know it was morning.**

Nudge handed the book to the Gasman.

**Chapter 84** he read.

**The brain explosion came again while I was sleeping. **Mom cringed again. "How long did this go on?" she asked.

I shrugged. "It stopped after New York." I held up a hand to Gaz before he could start again. "Look," I said, looking at Fang and Mom. "I know some things I thought throughout this little escapade are not. . .pleasant. But please, remember that I don't think that way now, okay? It's in the past, water under the bridge. So please if you feel the need to say something about it, don't."

Fang eyed me warily - I felt his eyes turn to my scar on my wrist, but shrugged. Mom however, she furrowed her brow and looked at me with concern. I couldn't stand it so I stared at my shoes. Gazzy started reading.

**One moment I was lost in a dream in which I was strolling lazily through a field of yellow flowers, like a dopey shampoo commercial, and the next I had jack-knifed into a sitting position, holding my head and feeling like this was it: Death had finally come for me, and it wasn't taking no for an answer. **"So don't answer it," Ella said.

**My breaths were tight hisses. Jagged shards of pain ripped through my skull, and I heard myself whimper. _Please let it be fast, _I begged God. Please just end it, end it, end it now. Please, please, please. **"Oh," Ella said, "I get it now, and Max, I'm so glad it didn't end then."

I nodded, smiling at her. "I didn't know what an awesome family I had yet."

** "Max?" Fang's low voice, right by my ear, seeped through the waves of agony. I couldnt' respond. My face was awash with tears. If I had been standing on a cliff, nothing could have kept me from throwing myself off. With my wings tucked _in._ **"Please," I whispered, not looking at Fang. All he did in response was wrap an arm around me and I leaned into his grasp gratefully.

** Inside my brain, images flashed incomprehensibly, making me sick, assaulting my senses with pictures, words, sounds. A voice speaking gibberish. _Maybe it was mine. _**_"_Yup." Iggy and Fang said, trying to lighten the mood. "All I managed to get was 'ar-mae-ne-blepa-han-fil.' But it was you."

** As if from a great distance, I felt Fang's hand on my shoulder, but it was like watching a movie – it seemed totally unrelated to what I was going through. MY teeth were clenched so hard my jaw ached, and then I tasted blood – I had bitten into my lip.**

** When was I going to see the proverbial tunnel of white light I'd heard about? With people waiting for me at the end, smiling and holding out their hands? Don't kids with wings go to heaven?**

** Then an angry voice filtered through the pain: "_Who's screwing with my Mac?" _**"Ahh," Iggy said. "I remember him. The guy who's freakier than we are."

"Oh, yeah," Gazzy said, "remember running into him on the west coast?"

"Wait, you guys ran into him _again?_" Nudge asked.

Fang shrugged, "the guy gets around."

With that Angel took the book from her brother and started to read.

**Chapter 85**

**Just as before, the pain slowly ebbed, and I almost cried with frustration: If it was ending, I wasn't dead. If wasn't dead, I could go through this again.**

** Images flashed across the backs of my eyes, but they were unfocused and undecipherable. If I had been alone, I would have started bawling. Instead I had to desperately try to keep it together, try not to wake the younger ones (if I hadn't already), **"Nope," Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge said together, popping the 'p' on 'nope.' I smiled at them.

**Try not to give our position away.**

** "Who are you?" The angry voice came again. "What are you doing? You've crashed my whole system, worthless dipstick!" **"This guys a total jerk," Ella said. Fang shrugged.

"He's not so bad once you get to know him," he said.

"And you _have?"_ I asked half-heartedly.

His reply? A shrug.

** Ordinarily, I would have been on my feet by now, pushing Angel and the others in back of me, an angry snarl on my face.**

** However, tonight I was crumpled in a humiliated, whimpering ball, holding my head, eyes squeezed shut, trying not to sob like a complete weenie.**

"It's okay to cry, Max," Mom said. "Sometimes you need to."

I took in a breath, "I know."

**"What are you talking about?" Fang asked, an edge of steel in his voice.**

** "My system crashed. I've tracked the interference, and it's comin' from _you._ So I'm tellin' you to knock it off – or else!" **"This is kind of funny," Ella said, and Mom looked at her like she'd gone a little crazy. "I mean, this _stranger_ is threatening _Fang_. Think about it, mom." **  
I drew in a deep, shuddering breath, totally mortified that a stranger was seeing me like this.**

** "And what's wrong with _her? _She trippin'?"**

** "She's fine," Fang snapped. "We don't know anything about your computer. If you're not brain-dead, you'll get out of here." No one sounds colder or meaner than Fang when he wants to.**

** The other guy said flatly, "I'm not going nowhere till you quit messing with my Mac. Why don't you get your girlfriend to a hospital?"**

** _Girlfriend?_ **There were snickers coming from all corners of the room. I rolled my eyes. It didn't matter now.

**Oh, God, I was going to catch it later about that. It was enough to make me lever up on one arm, then pull myself to a sitting position.**

** "Who the hell are _you?_" I snarled, the effect totally ruined by the weak, weepy sound of my voice. Blinking rapidly, finding even the dim tunnel light painful, I struggled to focus on the intruder.**

** I got a hazy impression of someone about my age; a ragged-looking kid wearing old army fatigues. He had a dingy PowerBook attached to straps around his shoulders like a xylophone or something. **"Who walks around with a _xylophone_ strapped to their shoulders?" Nudge asked curiously.

**"None of your beeswax!" he shot back. "Just quit screwing up my motherboard."**

** I was still clammy and nauseated, still had a shocking headache and felt trembly, but I thought I could string a complete sentence together. "What are you talking about?" **

** "This!" The kid turned his Mac toward us, and when I saw the screen I actually gasped.**

** It was a mishmash of flashing images, drawings, maps, streams of code, silent film clips of people talking. It was exactly the stuff that had flooded my brain during my attack.**

"Well that's trippy." Ella said as mom took the book from Angel.

"I wonder if the chip caused it." Mom said. "Do you still have these brain attacks?"

"No," I muttered, "the Voice isn't/wasn't tapped into the chip. Unfortunately, it's still there."

"Wait," Ella said, "What _voice?_"

"Oh, well, I'm sure you'll find out in the next chapter."

Mom put the book down, "Why don't we call it a night?"

I held out my fist and my guys tapped it. Then I dragged Fang out the door for a night flight before bed.

**AN:**

**Surprise! It's a day early! ^_^**

**Here's the latest chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! **

**Expect more sometime this week. (:**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	39. Of Feathery Fights and Sibling Rivalry

When I woke up the next morning, I noticed my pillow wasn't really a pillow. I snapped awake, to find Fang's dark eyes watching me warily. I had been asleep on his arm. Not exactly a comfy pillow, but the fact that it was Fang, that made the day already seem brighter. I stretched.

_ You okay?_ His eyes asked.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. _I – um, yeah._

I yawned. It was still dark in the … where were we?

"We're in a little barn not to far from the house," Fang said, answering my thoughts in that special way that only Fang can do.

I stared at him. "A _barn. _How the heck did we wind up in a barn?"

"You're exact words were: 'I am _not_ going back tonight. I don't think I can sleep there right now. Let's find somewhere else.'"

I stared blankly ahead. _Okay, then._

_"Don't worry, Max,"_ I heard in my head. Angel. _"We're safe, and you're in range. But we wanna go to the park. Your mom won't let us go until you get back."_

_ I'll be there soon, Ange._

I grabbed Fang's hand and pulled him up. "Let's get back, the kids want to go to the park."

"Now? It's only, what, seven?"

I looked at my watch. "Technically, it's seven past 9."

"Okay, we'll go back, but not before this," He said as he pulled me into his soft, strong arms and kissed me.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~!~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Max! Max!"

"Fang! Fang!"

"Iggy! Iggy!"

What's going on? Well, see, Ella didn't know which one of us could run the fastest so we decided to have a bit of a contest. Angel was cheering for me, Nudge for Fang, and Gazzy for Iggy. Ella was trying to stay out of it, she just wanted to watch. Mom, we had decided, would be the judge. _Best decision of the day._

What they didn't know is that I had developed more than just super sonic mode in flight. But I could run pretty much at the speed of sound. Or close to it anyway. I couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces.

"One," Mom said.

"Brace yourselves, boys," I told them with a grin, getting into position.

"Two."

"Whatever," Iggy said, getting into position on the other side of Fang.

"Three!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~!~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Holy cow!" Ella said as she watched the siblings took off. Max had a lead by about five feet within the first three seconds, and it kept getting longer. Second place was currently held by none other than the dark prince himself. "Go, Ig! Go!" Ella yelled as Iggy tried to take over second place. It was neck and neck (for second place that is) for a while, Iggy would over come Fang every once in a while but Fang always managed to get back into second.

Of course, no one was really surprised when Max crossed the finish line a full minute and fifteen seconds before the boys.

They were surprised when Iggy won with five seconds to spare.

"Awesome, Iggy!" Ella said wrapping her favorite bird boy into the type of hug that only the Martinez's can give.

"Thanks, El." He said. Ella could here the smile in his voice even though she couldn't see it.

"Beat by _not only_ Max, but Iggy too?" Ella heard Fang mutter.

"Get over it, bud." Max said back. "Although, you do seem to be losing your touch."

"We haven't had a good fight in months." Fang said. Ella watched as Fang got an evil smirk on his face. Max's face matched his expression.

"What do you say? Have a little sparring session?"

Ella walked over to Nudge. "How often do you do this?"

Nudge was lounging on one of the lower branches of a huge tree with her wings out – no one ever came to this park that was hidden in the woods.

"Sparring sessions?" Nudge asked, looking at Ella. "Oh, about anywhere from five to eleven times a month. Depends on what's happening. I'm surprised it's taken Max this long to let us have one." Ella watched as Nudge stood on the limb then jumped down as nimble as a cat leaping onto a railing.

Nudge grabbed her hand and dragged her over to the little sand pit around the monkey bars. "Check this out."

Max gathered the group together and went over the usual rules (probably for Moms and my sake, Ella thought) and the flock split into pairs: Gazzy and Angel. Nudge and Iggy. Max and Fang would supervise then they would spar after the younger ones.

Watching the siblings fight was like nothing Ella had ever seen. Picture an eight year old going head to head against a ten year old. It was remarkable. Angel seemed to know exactly when to duck when to kick, and when to jump. She jumped onto the monkey bars, hooked her legs around them and swung behind the Gasman. She jumped onto his back and ruffled his hair.

She skipped off the battle ground with a smile on her face. The Gasman acted like she'd delivered the final blow and dropped to the ground reaching up toward the sky.

Max and Fang lifted him up, each holding a leg and an arm. They started swinging the 'dead' Gazzy and with one last mighty swing thrust him into the air. He unfurled his wings and rose steadily into the air. Max smiled and made way for the next match.

Watching Iggy fight was a whole different experience than what Ella had expected.

He remained still, poised for to strike his foe. As Nudge tried to advance, Iggy would adjust his stance. Finally Iggy felt the bars, swung up and launched himself into the air. Nudge took a running leap and flew at him. He swiftly dodged and took after her. They continued in a dance of narrowly missed punches and carefully placed kicks until Iggy delivered the finally blow to Nudge's back. She glided into the tree where Gazzy was sitting.

"Awesome, Ig!" Ella shouted as he landed right beside her. She had to sidestep so as not to be hit by one of his wings.

He had a wide grin plastered on his face as he placed an arm and a wing around Ella.

Max stepped into the middle.

"Great job so far, guys," she said with a grin. "How about Gazzy and Nudge next. Then we can have Angel and Iggy."

"What about you, Max?" Doctor Martinez asked. Ella was curious too.

Ella glanced at all of the flock members, each of them grinning.

"We save the best, most entertaining fight till the end." Angel said as she settled down on the grass next to Ella.

Gazzy started right in against Nudge and they just hit it off right then and there. Gaz would punch Nudge would kick. Gaz would dodge, Nudge would punch. In the end, Ella sat there amazed as Gazzy won against Nudge. Nudge humphed then came to sit next to her as Iggy and Angel made there way into the little battle zone.

Angel looked at Iggy with wide innocent eyes. "Ready to lose, Iggy?" She asked.

Iggy snorted, "Bring. It." He said.

Ella thought they were the cutest pair to watch. The small blonde girl against the looming strawberry blonde boy nearly twice her size. She expertly dodged his well aimed kicks and punches but in the end, she couldn't dodge them all. After placing a few decent attacks against him, he managed to get her in the arm and fling her to the ground. She bounced right up but rubbed her arm as she walked over to where Max stood watching from a distance.

She ruffled Angels hair and Ella thought she heard Max mutter words of encouragement. She saw Angels head bob up and down. Max looked at Fang and they had another one of their silent conversations. Ella sat up a little higher, _time for some action._

Max waited for Fang to make the first move. Fang waited for Max to make the first move. Then they darted at each other with the agility of a cobra. Max going for a kick to the stomach and Fang, seeing where Max was headed, knocked her legs away. Max went with the flow and tried to punch Fang, but Fang caught her fist in his hand and kicked at her side – Ella could tell that they were barely withholding their strength. She watched as Max managed to get in a few good blows of her own: a roundhouse kick here, a couple nice side kicks, not to mention the nicely executed butterfly kick.

It looked to Ella that Fang was weakening; Max was going to win. Ella noticed Max start to ease up a bit. That's when Fang made his come back. He jumped here, slid there, swept her legs out from under her, then pinned her arms around her back. But that couldn't keep Max down for long. She quickly bucked Fang off her back and wrestled free of his hands. Max took to the sky and started circling Fang like a Vulture who's spotted their prey. Fang turned invisible as Max jetted to the ground. She pulled up at the last second and wheeled into a reverse roundhouse kick that manged to knock a hidden Fang to the ground with a gasp.

"Dang, Max," He muttered. "That one hurt."

She got close to him, examining the spot on his arm she'd hit. "Psych." He said, grabbing hold of her and flipping over so he was on top of her. He kept her down with a bit of a struggle.

"Fine!" She said, "But this is _far _from over."

Fang smiled as he stood up and held out a hand for her. She refused and stood up on her own.

Doctor Martinez laughed as she went to each of the kids, making sure no one had any serious injuries. As far as Ella could tell, Iggy had three bruises on each arm and a decent headache, Nudge had a few scrapes and bruises but wasn't bad. Angel had a decent bruise on her arm but other than that was fine. Gazzy had a bruise on his leg and multiple scrapes on each arm.

Max and Fang were fine. A bruise here and there, but nothing else.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~!~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After dinner we settled back into our reading seats. I snuggled into Fang, trying not to let the fact that he had beat me earlier get to me. Mom picked up the book and opened up to where we left off.

"This next parts entitled: **Part 5: **_**The Voice – Make that **_**my**_** voice.**_"

"And now you get to see how annoying that little voice is," I said to Fang who smiled and wrapped an arm around me.

**AN: Hey guys, okay so here's chapter 39! :D I hope you liked it! I tried to add a little Fax in there for ya. (Yup, that's for you, A$H. ^_^) The next one will be a reading one, I promise. (: **

**I'm going to be trying to update sooner than usual because there are a lot more chapters than I thought there were going to be, even with the 3 chaps in a chap. So I'll definitely be updating (if not the day before) Still on Tuesday and Friday. For instance, I updated a day early this week. (: **

**Well, that's about all I have to say. (:  
**

**Thanks for everyone who's added this story to their favorites and to their alerts! ^_^ Makes me happy! Just remember to add reviews to your end-of-the-story-to-do list! ^_^**

**Oh, and I hope everyone's July starts out magnificently! In your review, which I _know_ you will review, I wanna know what all my readers (at least from America) are doing for independence day!**

**Until next time,**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	40. Chapter's 86, 87, & 88

**I _dis _the _claim_ that I own anything. - Also known as the _DISCLAIMER. _**

**Chapter 86** Mom read.

Gazzy got really excited and said, "Yes! We get to find out how crazy Max really is!" Everyone laughed while I glared at him.

**My eyes flicked to the kid's grimy face. "Who _are_ you?" I demanded again, still sounding shaky.**

** "I'm the kid who's gonna kick your butt if you don't quit messing with my system," the kid said angrily. **Ella laughed. "I think I like this kid," she said. "Anyone who has guts enough to challenge the two of you either has a death wish or is _insane._

**In the next moment, his computer screen cleared totally, turning the same dull green as his fatigues. Then large red words scrolled down: _Hello, Max._ **"Well that's not creepy," Nudge said. This was the first time Nudge, Angel and Gaz had heard this part. I didn't blame any of them for looking at each other shocked.

**Fang's head whipped around to stare at me, and I focused helplessly on his wide, dark eyes. Then, as if connected, our heads turned to stare again at the computer. Onscreen, it was, _Welcome to New York._**

** Inside my head, a voice said, _I knew you'd come. I've got big plans for you. _**"Whoa." Came from five mouths.

**"Can you hear that?" I whispered. "_Did _you hear it?"**

** "Hear what?" Fang asked. **"And this is where Fang starts to think Max has gone insane," Ella said with a smile. I rolled my eyes in time with Fang.

**"That voice?" I said. My head ached, but the pain was better, and it looked as if I might avoid barfing. I rubbed my temples again, my gaze fixed on the kid's Mac.**

** "What's the deal?" the kid asked, sounding a lot less belligerent and much more weirded out. "Who's Max? How are you doing this?" **"How _are_ you doing that?" Ella asked confused. I shrugged.

"Honestly? I have _no_ idea. I think it was my chip, but I still have no clue what happened."

** "We're not doing anything," Fang said.**

** A new pain crashed into my brain, and once again the computer screen started flashing disconnected images, gibberish, plans, drawings, all chaotic and garbled.**

** Peering at the screen, wincing and still rubbing my temples, I spotted four words: _Institute for Higher Living._**

"Well there you go," Ella said.

"_That's _how you knew what we were looking for," Nudge and Gazzy said together.

**I looked at Fang, and he gave the slightest nod: He'd seen them too.**

** Then the screen went black once more.**

"And that, ladies and gentleman, is how the Voice entered my brain," I said with a clap. I took the book from mom and read the next chapter.

**Chapter 87**

**The kid quickly started typing in commands, muttering, "I'm gonna track this down. . . ."**

** Fang and I watched, but a couple minutes later the geek stopped, flicking his computer in frustration. He looked at us with narrowed eyes, taking in everything: the drying blood on my chin, the other kids sleeping near us.**

** "I don't know how you're doing it," he said, sounding resigned and irritated. "Where's your gear?"**

** "We don't have any gear," Fang said. "Spooky, isn't it?"**

** "You guys on the run? You in trouble"**

** Jeb had drilled it into us that we shouldn't ever trust anyone. (We now knew that included **_**him.**_**) The geek was starting to make me extremely nervous.**

** "Why would you think that?" Fang asked calmly.**

"Gee, I wonder," Ella said eying each of us. "It couldn't be that a bunch of kids were sleeping in a _subway_ tunnel in New York, could it?"

"Highly unlikely," Mom said with a smile.

** The kid rolled his eyes. "Let me see. Maybe because you're a bunch of **_**kids**_** sleepin' in a **_**subway tunnel**_**. Kind of clues me in, you know?" **Ella laughed and then Gazzy pointed out: "You know, that only makes you like the schizo..."

Ella stopped laughing.

** Okay, he had a point.**

** "What about you?" I asked. "You're a kid sleeping in a subway tunnel. Don't you have school?"**

** The kid coughed out a laugh. "MIT kicked me out." **"That's a likely story," Ella scoffed.

** MIT was a university for brainiacs – I'd heard of it. This kid wasn't old enough.**

** "Uh-huh." I made myself sound incredibly bored.**

** "No, really," he said, sounding almost sheepish. "I got early admission. Was gonna major in computer technology. But I spun out, and they told me to take a hike." **"Is he for real?" Mom asked, looking between me and Fang.

Fang and I nodded.

** "What do you mean, spun out?" asked Fang.**

** He shrugged. "Wouldn't take my Thorazine. They said, no Thorazine, no school." **"I can imagine," Mom said and Ella cocked her head.

"Thorazine is a prescription for Schizophrenics," I explained.

"Why would you know that, though?" Ella asked.

"There are somethings you just pick up on at the School," Fang said along with Iggy.

"Oh, okay." She said after a minute.

** Okay, I'd been around wack-job scientists enough o pick up on some stuff. Like the fact that Thorazine is what they give schizophrenics.**

** "So you didn't like Thorazine," I said.**

** "No." His face turned hard. "Or Haldol, Or Melleril, or Zyprexa. They all suck. People just want me to be quiet, do what I'm told, don't make trouble." **"He kind of reminds me of you, Max," Nudge said cautiously. I rounded on her, my eyes showing, _You had better not just called me schizo, Missy. _

"I just meant that he doesn't like to do what he's told. I didn't mean that you were a psycho. He just, didn't want the easy life of having someone take care of him when he could live on his own – be free." She said all this in one fast breath and I just continued to read.

"I mean," Ella said. "I can kind of see where she's going, but Max? Are you _sure_ you're not Schizophrenic? You _do_ have a voice in your head..."

I glared at her as the room laughed.

** It was weird – he reminded me a little bit of us: He'd chosen to live a hard, dirty life, being free, instead of a taken-care-of life where he was like a prisoner.**

** Course, we weren't schizo. On second thought, I had a voice talking inside my head. Better not make any snap judgments. **The room was filled with snickers again.

** "So what's up with your computer, man?" Fang asked.**

** The kid shrugged again. "It's my bread and butter. I can hack into anything. Sometimes people pay me. I do jobs when I need money." All of a sudden his mouth snapped shut. "Why? **_**Who wants to know?"**_

** "Chill out, dude," Fang said, frowning. "We're just having a chat."**

** But the kid had started to back away, looking angry. "Who sent you?" he asked, his voice rising. "Who are you? You just leave me alone! You just stay away!" **"See?" I said, "I'm not anything like that!" Mom looked at me.

I looked back at her blankly, and felt Fang nudge the book.

** Fang raised his hands in a "calm down" gesture, but the kid had turned and run. In about fifteen seconds we could no longer hear his sneakers on the ground.** "He's a fast runner," Ella noted. "But you're faster."

"Precisely." Iggy said.

** "It's always so refreshing to meet someone crazier than us," I said. "We seem so normal afterward." **"It's so true!" Angel, Nudge and Gazzy said as we laughed.

**"_We?"_ Fang said.** "Yes, _we." _I said, finally able to respond.

**"Wha's up?" Iggy asked sleepily, pulling himself upright.**

** I sighed but forced myself to tell Iggy about the kid's computer, the Voice in my head, the images that flashed through me during one of my attacks. I tried to sound nonchalant, so he wouldn't know I was quaking in my boots. **"Nice try, Max," Ig said. I frowned. "It almost worked, but your voice would shake almost imperceptibly but it was enough for me." Ella smacked him upside the head.

"Be nice," She said.

**"Maybe I'm going crazy," I said lightly. ** "I think we've established that you are -" Iggy started.

"-not-" Angel interrupted.

"crazy." Gazzy finished.

**"But it will lead me to greatness. Like Joan of Ac." **The room was filled with more laughter.

** "But controlling other people's computers?" Iggy said skeptically.**

** "I don't see how," I said. "But since I have no clue about who or what could possibly be causing it, I guess I can't rule anything out."**

** "Hmm. Do we think it's connected to the School or the Institute?" Fang asked.**

** "Well, either that or I was born this way," I said sarcastically. "On the off chance I _wasn't,_ let's really, really try to find the Institute tomorrow. At least no we know what name to look for."**

** The Institute for Higher Living.**

** Catchy, huh?**

I handed the book to Fang who started promptly.

**Chapter 88** he read.

**Have you ever woken up about a hundred times more exhausted than you were when you went to sleep?** "Yup." Nudge said.

"Been there -" Iggy started.

"-Felt that-" Gazzy continued.

"-Won't ever go back." I finished with a smile relaxing into Fang's side.

** The next morning – at least, I assumed it was morning, since we were all waking up – I felt like one of the twelve dancing princesses, **"Wait, wait, wait," Ella said, trying so hard not to laugh, I couldn't help it, I _was _laughing.

"Can we _PLEASE _record this part?" She asked.

She was silenced by a glare from Fang. But everyone was still laughing; Fang saying he felt like one felt like a dancing princess was something you just never get tired of hearing.

**I felt like one of the twelve dancing princesses who danced all night, wore holes in their shoes, and had to sleep it off the next day. **Fang read this through gritted teeth. **Except, oh, yeah: a) I'm not a princess; b) sleeping in a subway tunnel and having another brain attack aren't that much like dancing all night; and c) my combat boots were still in good shape. Other than that, it was _exactly_ the same.**

** "Is it morning?" Angel asked, yawning.**

** "I'm hungry," were, predictably, Nudge's first words.**

** "Okay, we'll get you some chow," I said tiredly. "Then it's off to find the Institute."**

** Fang, Iggy, and I had agreed to not tell the younger kids about the hacker or about my latest brain attack. Why make 'em worry? **"Yeah," Gazzy muttered, "never tell the younger kids anything, let's just confuse them."

I smiled sheepishly, "You didn't _really_ need to know."

He sighed, "Maybe not, but it would've -"

"-taken more time? -been even more confusing since we didn't even know what was really going on?"

Gazzy just sat in thought and nodded. Fang read on.

** It took a couple minutes for us to wend our way through the subway tunnels, back up into light and air. You know you've been breathing something less than primo when the New York street smells really fresh and clean. **"Holy cow," Ella said.

"That must have been so disgusting and unhealthy," Mom said.

** "It's so bright," the Gasman said, shielding his eyes. Then, "Is that honey-roasted peanuts?" **Laughter commenced.

** Their incredible scent was impossible to resist. You could have an Eraser selling those peanuts, and we'd probably still go. **"Tell me that's not the case," Mom said worriedly.

I laughed and let Fang read the next line. **I focused my eyes on the vendor. No. Not an Eraser.** "Good," Mom said, letting out a breath.

** We got some peanuts, and the new walked down Fourteenth Street, chomping, as I tried to figure out a sensible way to comb the city. First, a phone book. We saw a phone kiosk up ahead, but it had only a chain where the phone book had been. Would a store let us use theirs? _Hey! Information!_ I dug some change out of my pocket and picked up the phone. I dialed 411.**

** "In New York City, the Institute for Higher Living," I said when the automated operator came on. **

** "We're sorry. There is no listing under that name. Please check and try again."** "Nothing is ever that easy for you is it?" Ella asked.

I shook my head in unison with the other members of my family.

** Frustration was my constant companion. I wanted to scream. "What the he-eck are we supposed to do _now?"_ I asked Fang.**

** He looked at me, and I could tell he was mulling over the problem. He held out a small waxed-paper bag. "Peanut?"**

** We kept walking and eating, gazing in constant amazement at the store windows. Everything you could buy in the wold was for sale on Fourteenth Street in New York. Of course, we couldn't afford any of it. Still, it was awesome.**

** "Smile, you're on _Candid Camera,_" said Fang, pointing at a window.**

** In an electronics store, a short circuit camera was displaying passersby on a handful of TV screens. Automatically, we ducked our heads and turned away, instinctively paranoid about anyone having our images. **

** Suddenly, I winced as a single sharp pain hit my temple. At the same time, words scrolling across the TV screens caught my eye. I stared in disbelief as _Good morning, Max,_ filled every screen.** "Holy cow," Ella and mom said.

"No matter where you go _everyone_ knows you, Max!" She continued.

** "Jeez," Fang breathed, stopping dead in his tracks.**

** Iggy bumped into him, saying, "what? What is it?"**

** "Is that you?" the Gasman asked me. "How do they know you?"**

** _Playing is learning, Max, _said the Voice inside my head. **"Why just 'the _Voice?" _Ella asked, "Can't you tell what _kind _of voice it was?"

I glared at her, thinking of the many nights I lay awake recalling the sound of the Voice and trying to decipher the gender and general age of the stupid thing. "No. No I cant."

**It was the same one as last night, and I realized I couldn't tell if it was adult or child, male or female, friend of foe. Great.**

** _Games test your abilities. Fun is crucial to human development. Go have fun, Max._**"Did it just basically _order _you to have fun?" Ella asked and I nodded a quick bob of a nod back.

**I halted, oblivious to the gobs of people streaming around us on the street. "I don't want to have fun! I want some answers!" I blurted without meaning to – the crazy girl talking back to her little voice.**

** _Get on the Madison Avenue bus,_ said the voice._ Get off when it looks fun. _**"So that's why we got on the bus," Nudge said with sudden comprehension, reaching out for the book from Fang.

**AN: **

**Well, what can I say? It's summer. Oh, and don't expect another one till Monday. I'm going out of town and I'm not sure if I'll have internet where I'm going...in fact, I don't think I'll take my computer. So get over it. :) and I mean that in the nicest way possible.**

**Until next time, **

**~Jezi Raewin**


	41. Chapter 89

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does.**

Nudge excitedly started to read.

**Chapter 89**

**I don't know about the _rest_ of you who have little voices, but something about _mine_ made me feel completely compelled to listen to it. **"Oh, Max, you need to be really careful," Mom said looking at me with an expression mixed with worry and concern.

"Has it ever steered me wrong?" I asked my flock.

They had to think. That didn't help.

"No...not yet," Angel said. That calmed down mom, if only a tad bit.

**I blinked and discovered the flock gazing at me solemnly, watching me sink further into total insanity right before their eyes. **"I resent that," I heard Total call down from upstairs. I rolled my eyes as the rest of the room laughed.

**"Max, are you okay?" Nudge asked.**

** I nodded. "I think we should get on the Madison Avenue bus," I said, looking for a street sign.**

** Fang looked at me thoughtfully. "Why?" I turned slihgtly so the others couldn't see me and mouthed, "The Voice."**

** He nodded. "But Max," he whispered, barely audible, "what if this is all a trap?"**

** "I don't know!" I said, "But maybe we should do what it says for a while – to see."**

** "Do what _what _says?" the Gasman demanded.**

** I had started walking toward the corner. I heard Fang say,"Max has been hearing a voice, inside her. We don't know what it is." ** "Way to blow _that_ plan right out of the water," Ella said with Iggy making the sound of an explosion quietly beside her. I laughed at them but felt Fang stiffen his features into a glare.

**So much for not worrying the others.**

** "Like her conscience?" Nudge asked. "Do the TVs have anything to do with it?"**

** "We don't know," said Fang. "Right now it wants us to get on the Madison Avenue bus, apparently." **"Don't forget that it wants you to have fun." Ella said helpfully.

"I didn't know that much at the time," Fang said.

** The bus stop was fourteen blocks away. We got on, and I pushed our fares into the machine. The driver waved us through, saying, "Pass, pass, pass" in a bored voice.**

** I hoped the Voice didn't want me to keep spending money – we were dangerously low.** "Oh, I hope you find your little card soon," Mom said worriedly.

"Don't worry, mom," I said. "If I remember right, then it wasn't but maybe a day after the toy store that I found it."

"What toy store?" Mom and Ella asked. I waved my hand. They'd find out soon enough.

Angel shot up and ran upstairs. When she returned she was clutching a rough looking Celeste.

"The _Toy Store!"_ She said with a grin.

** For people who get nervous In small, confined spaces or surrounded by other people, riding a bus is pretty much a living nightmare. It was so crowded we had to stand in the aisle with people pressed up against us. **"Not fun," Mom said.** I figured we could always kick a window out and jump, but the whole thing frayed my few remaining nerves. My head was swiveling constantly, scanning for Erasers suddenly morphing out of our fellow passengers. **"Worst place to have Erasers show up," Fang asked. "Airplane or Bus?"

"Which model of Eraser?" I asked Fang.

"The ones with wings, but were still...you know..."

"Okay...definitely going to have to go with a plane." I said.

"Plane," Iggy said.

"Plane," Nudge said, "because in a bus you can at least bust out the window's easily and then take to the air."

"Um, plane," Gazzy and Angel said together.

"Well that solves it," Mom said with a grimace. "Just _please_ don't tell me you run into them in either place?"

** _Well, Voice?_ I thought. _What now?_**

** I'm sure this will surprise you, but the Voice did not answer. **

"Does it ever answer you when you talk directly to it?" Ella asked. "_Do_ you ever talk to it directly?"

Fang and I looked at each other. "Oh yeah," I said, "I've talked to it before, but it only likes to provide somewhat useful information when you least expect it." I smirked and Angel giggled.

"You should hear what goes down sometimes, Ella," she said.

"She _probably_ will, Angel," I said.

Ella grinned and Mom smiled warily, not sure if she wanted to hear my conversations that only take place in my head.

** Next to me, Angel trustingly held my hand, watching the city go past the bus windows. It was up to me. I had to keep everyone safe. If my brain attacks killed me, **"Which they didn't," Fang felt the need to point out. **Fang would take over. But until then, I was numero uno. I couldn't let the flock down. _Do you hear that, Voice? If you're going to make me let everyone down, you're going to be sorry you ever . . . entered my brain._**Everyone laughed at that.

** Oh, my God, I was so freaking nuts. **"At last! You finally accept it!" the Gasman said.

** "Okay, people," the bus driver said over the PA system. "Fifty-eighth Street! This is where the fun is!"**

** Startled, I looked at Fang, then started hustling everyone out the back door of the bus. We stepped into the sunlight. The bus pulled noisily away, leaving us choking on its exhaust. We were at the bottom of Central Park. **"It's astounding how big Central Park really is," Mom said and we all nodded in agreement.

** "What-" I began, then my eyes widened as I saw a large glass-fronted building across the street. Behind it's glass were an enormous teddy bear, a huge wooden soldier, and a fifteen-foot-tall ballerina up on one pointed toe.**

** The sign said AFO Schmidt.**

** The world's most amazing toy store.**

** Well, Okay.**

"Totally awesome," Gazzy said. He and Nudge looked at each other, their eyes grew wide and they looked at me and Fang.

"Can we go back? Like, really soon?" They asked in unison. I looked at Fang. _I'm not saying yes, yet._

_Well don't look at me._ He told me. _I'm not about to tell them 'no.'_

I shrugged and we moved on. As Nudge passed the book to Gazzy I heard her mutter "They didn't say no" and the younger ones grinned at each other.

**AN:**

**Please don't kill me. :( I've been going through a little slump. And I had really_, really_ thought that I would have all three chapters put into this one before I left for my trip. But I _WILL_ Have those done and up on Tuesday. OK? **

**Anyway, here's to all the people who added this story to their favorites list. :D And to their story alerts! ^_^**

**So I expect Reviews! Even if it is a "Where did you go? Where have you been? Why isn't this long? Why isn't their rain? Why can't we have desert for breakfast?"**

**Until TUESDAY!**

**~Jezi**


	42. Chapter's 90 & 91

**AN: I do not own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does.**

**Chapter 90 **the Gasman read.

**We poor, underprivileged, pathetic bird kids had never been in a toy store. **"We are _not_ pathetic," Iggy said indignantly, and the younger kids huffed too. I raised my hands in surrender.

"How about this one, _we poor underprivileged bird kids,_ Just pretend that's what I said." I waved the Gasman to read on.

** And AFO Schmidt is where kids think they've died and gone to heaven. **"_So-oooo _true!" Angel and Nudge said in unison. **Right inside the front door was a huge two-story clock covered with moving figures. The song "It's a Small World" was playing loudly, but I figured that was to keep out the riffraff.**

** I had no idea why we were here. **

"I thought we were there to have fun," Nudge said.

"Yeah, but you know Max, Nudge," Iggy said. "She doesn't understand the concept."

I didn't even waste the time to glare. Instead, I just whacked him real hard on the arm, as Ella whacked him on the leg.

"_OW,_" He said, rubbing both spots.

**It seemed too much to hope that somehow this little romp was getting us closer to finding the Institute, but I made the executive decision to see where it took us.**

** A life-size giraffe surrounded by other life-size stuffed animals led the way to the whole stuffed-animal area, which was practically as big as our old house.**

** I looked down at Gazzy and Angel to see them staring, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, at too many fabulous toys to even comprehend.**

** "Iggy," the Gasman said, "there's a _whole room_ of Lego and Bionicle."**

** "Go with them," I told Fang. "And let's keep an eye out for each other, okay?"** "Let me guess," Ella said. "You get separated anyway?"

"Actually, this may surprise you, but we managed to make it out all together." I said.

** He nodded and followed the boys into the Lego room, while I trailed after Angel and Nudge, who were picking up one stuffed animal after another. **

** "Oh, my gosh," Nudge was saying, holding a small stuffed tiger. "Oh, Max, isn't he the cutest thing? Oh, his name is Samson." **"I remember that Tiger! Awe, he was _so _cute!" Nudge started, but Gazzy cut her off.

** I dutifully agreed that he was in fact the cutest thing and kept glancing around for either an Eraser or some kind of clue my Voice might point me to.**

** "Max?" Angel tugged on my sleeve. **Angel bowed her head. _I'm sorry, Max. _I heard in my head. I looked directly at her and she looked me in the eye. _You know it was wrong?_I asked. She nodded. _Then there's nothing to be sorry about. You learned your lesson. _

_I'm still sorry. _She hugged her bear close to her.

**I turned to her and she held up a small stuffed bear. It was dressed as an angel, with a white gown and little wings on its back. A tiny gold wire halo floated above its head.**

** Angel's eyes were pleading with me. I checked its price tag. The pleasure of owning this small stuffed bear could be hers for only forty-nine dollars.** Mom sucked in a breath. "How on _earth _did you manage to afford that? I thought you were running low on money."

I shrugged as Angel did.

"We managed," was all I said.

** "I'm so sorry, Angel," I said, bending down to her eye level. "But this bear is forty-nine dollars. We're almost out of money-I don't have anywhere near that. I'm really sorry. I wish I could get it for you. I know it's an angel, just like you." I stroked her hair and handed her the bear back.**

** "But I want it," Angel snapped at me, which was completely out of character for her.**

** "I said no. That's it, kiddo." **"So how did you end up with Celeste, then?" Ella asked and Mom looked thoughtful. I could tell that she understood what Angel did, but had decided not to say anything.

** I wandered a few feet away, still within eyeshot of the girls, to look at a "mystical" display. There were Magic 8 Balls, and when you shook them, an answer would float to the surface of a little window. I shook one. "Very likely" was its prediction. **"What was your question?" Fang asked with a smirk. I whacked him. **Unfortunately, I had forgotten to as it a question. **Everyone laughed.

** There was a game called Cu-balah!, a Gypsy Fortune-teller game, and the old favorite: a Ouija board. I breathed out, my hands in my pockets, and looked around the store. Maybe we should sleep here tonight.** "That would have been awesome," Gazzy said.

** Out of the corner of my eye, I detected a slight movement, and my raptor gaze locked on it. It was the little Ouija doohickey, the thing that "spirits" are supposed to guide across the board, pointing to certain letters, but everyone knows it's really the kids doing it.**

** This one was moving with nothing touching it. **"Say, what?" Ella said and Iggy straightened up.

"What?" He said and Ella whacked him lightly.

** I looked around: No one was near. Angel was almost twenty feet away, not looking at it, still holding the bear. I waved my hand over it – there were no wires. **"What about a Magnet?" Mom asked.

I shook my head wearily, "Nope, no magnet." **It had touched the _S_ and then the _A. _I lifted the game board and held it up, in case it was being moved by a magnet underneath. The pointer reached the _V _and headed toward the _E._**

** _Save._**

** I put the board back down as if it were red-hot.**

** The small black triangle paused on the _T_, then moved to the _H._ Then the _E_.**

** _The_.**

"World," Ella said in a creepy voice. "I bet you didn't take that too lightly. Am I right?"

I felt my face stiffen into an emotionless mask and I felt Fang smile.

The younger ones snickered.

"I'll take that as a _yes_."

** It slid very slowly toward the _W,_ and I frowned. It moved up and over to the _O_, and my jaw clenched. By the time it reached the _R_, I was ready to throw the board across the store. Grimly, I watched as it finished. The _L._ The _D_. The _M, _the _A_, the _X_.**

** _Save the world, Max._**

"Here, Angel," Gazzy said, handing the book on.

**Chapter 91,** Angel read.

"**_Fang!"_**

** He whirled, saw my face, and instantly tapped Iggy's and the Gasman's hands. They joined me and Nudge under the huge clock.**

** "Let's get out of here," I muttered. "A Ouija board just told me to save the world."** A couple people laughed. "How many time's can someone say _that_?" Ella asked.

** "Gosh, you're, like, famous," said the Gasman, clearly not feeling the ominous dread that I was. **"Nope," Gazzy said with a grin.

** "Where's Angel?" Fang asked.** "Oh, snap," Ella said.

** I reached out for her and grabbed air. My head whipped around, and I rushed back to the stuffed-animal section. Already, panic was flooding my senses-it had been barely more than a week since she'd been kidnapped. . . .** "Sorry, Max," Angel said queitly, "I didn't mean to make you worried."

I smiled at her, "It's okay, hon. Just, don't do it again, okay?"

She nodded.

** I skidded to a stop by a life-size chimpanzee hanging from a display. In front of me, Angel was talking to an older woman. I'd never seen an Eraser that old, so my heartbeat ticked down a couple notches.**

** Angel looked sad, and she held up the angel bear to show the woman.**

** "What's she up . . ." Fang began.**

** The woman hesitated, then said something I couldn't hear. Angel's face lit up, and she nodded eagerly.**

** "Somone's buying something for Angel," Iggy said quietly. **

** Angel _knew_ we were watching her, but she was refusing to meet our eyes. The five of us followed them to the checkout counter, and I watched in disbelief as the woman, seeming a bit bemused, took out her wallet and paid for Angel's bear. Angel was practically jumping up and down with happiness. She bounced on her heels, clutching the bear to her chest, and I heard her say "Thank you" about a thousand times. **Mom smiled a little bit, and I did too. I just wasn't happy about the way that it came about.

** Then, still looking slightly confused, the woman smiled, nodded, and left the store.**

** We swarmed around our youngest family member.**

** "What was that about?" I asked. "Why did that woman buy you that bear? That thing cost_ forty-nine dollars!_"**

** "What did you say to her?" Iggy demanded. "No one's buying _us_ stuff."**

** "Nothing," Angel said, holding her bear tightly. "I just asked that lady if she would buy me this bear, 'cause I really, really wanted it and I didn't have enough money."**

** I started shepherding everyone out the front door before Angel asked someone to buy her the life-size giraffe. **"I wouldn't have done that," Angel said with a frown. "How would I have been able to carry it?"

I smiled at her.

** Outside, the sun was bright overhead, and it was time for lunch. Time to get us back on track.**

** "So you just asked a stranger to buy you an expensive toy, and she did?" I asked Angel.**

** Angel nodded, smoothing her bear's fur down around it's ears. "Yeah. I just asked her to buy it for me. You know, _with my mind_." **"And thus the first experience we came across where Angel used her mind powers," Gazzy said looking at his sister. "At least you only use them for good."

Angel grinned at him and handed the book to Ella.

**AN: Hey guys. **

**I'm so _sorry_ that it took me this long. I could give you this really - I mean _really_ - long list of excuses...but I won't. Instead, I'm going to give a shout out to Bookreader10. I've started to Beta for her, and let me say this: I love it! Her stories a lot like mine, but for the Percy Jackson series! ^_^**

**Check it out sometime. :D**

**Okay guys, I'll be back soon. I promise. Not like I promised I would have this up by this past Tuesday, but I promise.**

**Until next time,**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	43. Chapter's 92 & 93

_**Disclaimer: **_**I don't own Maximum Ride. *sigh* James Patterson does. **

**Chapter 92** Ella read.

**Fang and I exchanged a look. This was a little scary. Actually, a lot scary. **Everyone looked at each other. "You know I can still hear the thoughts you all are _dying_ to share...right?" Angel asked, slightly annoyed. I smiled sheepishly at her.

"Of course, Angel," I said, thinking reassuring thoughts, showing her my side. She smiled and nodded.

"I didn't mean to scare you," She said apologetically.

** "Um, what do you mean, exactly?" I asked Angel. Okay, so she can pick up on most people's thoughts and feelings. But this was the first I'd heard of her _sending _a thought.**

** "I just asked her, in my mind," Angel said absently, straightening the bears' small white wings. "And she said okay. And she bought if for me. I'm going to call it Celeste."**

** "Angel, are you saying that you influenced that woman so she would buy you the bear?" I asked carefully.**

** "Celeste," Angel said. "What's _influenced?_"**

"To have an effect on something or someone," Ella and Nudge said together, but it was Nudge that continued the explanation. "Like Iggy and Gazzy for example. Gazzy wasn't _always_ a little pyro-in-training, I remember when he and I would play all sorts of games before he was _influenced_ by Iggy."

"Thank you, Nudge," Gazzy said quickly as Angel started laughing at the images flashing through my mind of some of those 'games' that the two used to play. One of them being a 'hair-salon' game Nudge had come up with. I smiled as Ella kept reading.

**"To have an effect on something or someone," I said. "It sounds like you sort of _made_ her buy you the bear-"**

** "Celeste."**

** "_Celeste, _whether she wanted to or not. Do you see what I'm saying?"**

** Angel frowned and shrugged, looking uncomfortable. Then her brow cleared. "Well, I _really _wanted Celeste. More than anythign in the whole wide world."**

** Like that made it okay.**

I watched Angels face to see her reaction. She looked disheartened and I heard a little 'I'm sorry, Max. I see now," in my head. _As long as you learned your lesson, then it's okay._ I thought back and she bobbed her head.

**I opened my mouth to explain the life lesson that was screaming to be learned here , but Fang caught my eye. His expression said, Save it, and I shut up and nodded, waiting to hear his thoughts later.**

Ella looked at Fang, wanting to hear his thoughts on the matter and he shrugged. I smiled. She read on.

**And now, back to our mission. If only I had one freaking clue as to how to find the Institute.**

** We stopped and bought falafel for lunch, keeping an eye out for danger as we walked along eating. Angel tucked her bear – Celeste – into the waistband of her pants so she'd have both hands free.**

** Angel is only six, and God knows her upbringing hasn't exactly been normal. Still, I thought she was old enough to know the difference between right and wrong. I thought she knew that _influencing _that woman to buy her Celeste was wrong. But she had done it anyway.**

** Which I found disturbing.**

** I winced and grabbed my temple just as the silky Voice said, _It's just a toy, Max. Kids deserve toys. Don't you think you deserve a toy too?_**

**"I'm too old for toys," I muttered angrily, **"Say it isn't so!" Ella said with a gasp. **and Fang glanced at me in surprise.**

** "Did you want a toy?" the Gasman asked, confused.**

** I shook my head. Don't mind me folks. Just talking to my little Voice again. But at least my head didn't hurt nearly as bad this time.**

"Well that's good," mom said, "and interesting." She looked thoughtful.

**_I'm sorry it hurts sometimes, Max. I don't want to hurt you. I want to help you._**

** I clamped my lips together so I wouldn't answer it. When I wanted information, it was silent; when I didn't want to hear from it, it got chatty. **"So, kind of like Fang," Ella suggested, suppressing a giggle.

Fang smirked and I laughed, thinking about it. "Except I enjoy speaking with Fang a _lot_ more than the Voice." I said.

**It was almost as irritating as Fang.**

Fang looked at me, feigning hurt in his expressive – to me – dark eyes.

"Back then, you _were_ irritating. And I'm pretty sure I irritated you too," I told him crossing my arms playfully.

Mom chuckled and took the book from Ella.

**Chapter 93** She read.

**I was starting to seriously freak out. Everywhere we went, something from the Other Side got to me. If it wasn't a voice in my head, it was a TV screen in a window. It was a hacker kid in a subway tunnel, the contents of my brain displayed on his computer. Bus drivers telling s where the fun was. The Erasers. What's that saying – you're not paranoid if somebody really is chasing you?**

** "We're surrounded," I muttered, staring at the toes of my boots as we walked along. **

** I felt Fang do a 360 next to me. **  
"Okay," Ella asked, raising her hand slightly. "I've got a question."

I gestured for her to ask away.

"_How_ do you _feel_ someone do a 360 when their standing next to you?"

Fang and I shrugged. "It's jut something you get used to," I said for the both of us. Iggy nodded his agreement.

"It's true. We can kind of feel each others movement's sometimes."

"O-okay," Ella said lowering her hand.

Mom kept reading.

**"We're wasting time," I finally said in frustration. "We need to find the Institute. Discover our histories and destinies. We don't need to go to toy stores. We've got to get serious about this."**

** _All in good time, Max._**

** Fang started to answer me, but I held up a finger – one sec.**

** _You need to learn how to relax. Relaxation facilitates learning and communication. Studies have shown it. But you're not relaxing._**

"How does it expect you to relax?" Mom asked, and I smiled; I had someone on my side.

"I don't know," I said, with a shrug.

"I mean, it's not like you shouldn't _try_ to relax, but I don't see how you could relax." She paused, then continued to read.

** "Of course I'm not relaxing!" I hissed under my breath. "We need to find the Institute! We're running out of money! We're constantly in danger!"**

** The other had stopped and were watching me with alarm. Fang was probably ready to drag me to the funny farm.**

"The thought _had_ crossed my mind," Fang said. "But I knew it wouldn't do any good. You'd just break out of there."

I smiled.

**I was totally losing my mind, right? Something had damaged my brain – I'd had a stroke or something, and now I was hearing voices. **"Just one voice, Max," Nudge and the Gasman said together. **It made me feel different from the rest of the flock. Too different. I felt alone.**

** _Just one voice, Max. Not voices. Calm down._**

**"What's wrong, Max?" asked the Gasman.**

** I took a deep breath and tried to get a grip. "I feel like I'm about to explode," I said honestly. "Three days ago, Angel said she heard there was more info about us in a place called the Institute, in New York. _More info._ This could be what we've always wanted to know."**

** "'Cause we might find out about our parents?" Iggy said.**

** "Yes," I answered. "But now we're here, and really weird things are happening, and I'm not sure -" With no warning, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. **Mom's voice turned strained with worry.

** "_Hello, kids!"_ **Ella held Iggy's hand.

** Directly in front of us, two Erasers leaped out of the doorway of a building. **

** Angel screamed, and I instinctively grabbed her arm, jerking her back hard. In a split second, I had swung around and we were racing down the sidewalk at top speed. Fang and Iggy were behind us, Nudge and the Gasman on either side. The sidewalks were full of people, and it was like an obstacle course.** "That would've been interesting to see," Ella said through bated breath. I could practically see the thoughts written on her forehead. _RUN!_

Looking back on this little chase seen, I chuckled, then had to face everyone's stares.

"I mean, _seriously,_" I said. "We were _running_ through New York, with Erasers behind us. Remember the faces of the poor shmucks who had their day ruined? It was priceless!"

"Oh yeah!" Nudge said, her eyes brightening. Mom read on.

** "_Cross!"_ I yelled and darted into the street. The six of us whisked between two passing taxis, whose drivers honked angrily. Behind us, I heard a loud _thunk! _And a startled, half-choked cry.**

** "Bicycle messenger took an Eraser out!" Fang shouted. **We all laughed.

** Can you giggle while racing for your life and protecting a six-year-old? I can.**

** But two seconds later, a heavy clawed hand grabbed my hair, yanking me backward, right off my feet. Angel's hand was ripped out of mine, and she creamed bloody murder. You think you understand those words – _bloody murder?_ Trust me; you don't. **"Well, all right, then," Mom said, handing me the book. I took it and started to read.

**AN: Hey guys, sorry it's only two chapters. Next time I PROMISE it will be three. **

**I hope you enjoyed it, tell me what you think in your REVIEW which I KNOW you will, because reviews encourage me to write. More encouragement, faster updates. That's how it works. :D**

**Fly on!**

**~Jezi R.**


	44. Chapter's 94, 95, & 96

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Maximum Ride series. It belongs to James Patterson.**

Max POV:

**Chapter 94** I started to read without hesitation. _Let's just get this over with._

**Without pausing, the powerful Eraser swung me up over his shoulder. Talk about being dead meat.** Mom winced.

** I smelled his harsh animal smell, saw his bloodshot eyes. He was laughing, happy to have caught me, and his long yellow fangs actually looked too big for his mouth. ** My flock gave a collective shudder, remembering each and every time they had come in contact with the shape-shifting 'guardians.' **Angel was still screaming.**

** _Bloody murder!_**

**I kicked and yelled and hit and punched and scratched, but the Eraser just laughed and started tearing down the sidewalk while people stared. "Is this a movie?" I heard someone asked.**

** _Nah – this is too original for Hollywood. They do sequels._** Ella tried to give a little laugh, but it was shaky. Iggy, however, did laugh. I even let a snicker escape my mouth. Angel smiled and Nudge 'hmph'-ed.

**Lifting my head, I saw Fang, dark and determined, streaking toward us. **"That is something you _never _want to be on the receiving side of," I said and Iggy and the Gasman nodded fervently. Fang just smirked. **He was keeping pace, but he wasn't catching up. If a car was waiting, I was a goner. I struggled as hard as I could, chopping at the Eraser, punching and scratching, and it was infuriating how little effect Ihad on the beast. Had they been bred to have no pain receptors?**

** _"Fang!"_ I bellowed, seeing him even farther away than he had been. We were outpacing him. Dimly, I could still hear Angel's high-pitched shrieking. Every nasty swear word I knew cam pouring out of my mouth, punctuated with punches and chops and kicks. The Eraser didn't even slow down.** "Somehow," mom said, "I don't think your nasty words are going to do any extra damage."

** The next thing I knew, we were going down, **"You'd be surprised in the power of nasty words," Angel said innocently.

"That's why Max doesn't let us say them," Nudge and the Gasman said. **suddenly and with no warning, as if someone had cut the Eraser's legs out from under him. He hit the ground with a sickening thud, and I cracked my head against the sidewalk so hard I saw fireworks. **"Oh, no," mom said worriedly. "You didn't get a concussion, did you?" I shook my head. I couldn't remember if I had a concussion then. . . it was a long time ago. **My legs were pinned, and I frantically started kicking, scrambling out from under him.**

** He didn't move. _Had he knocked himself out? How?_**

**I scrabbled back into a trash can, snapped onto all fours, and stared at the Eraser. He was completely still, his eyes open and glassy. Blood trickled out of his mouth, which had morphed halfway to a wolf's snout. **"Is he dead?" Ella asked in a whisper. Fang nodded briefly. **A few curious people had paused to watch us, but most kept on walking, talking into their cell phones. Life as usual in New York City.**

** Fang roared up and pulled me hard to my feet, starting to drag me away.**

** "Wait!" I said. "Fang – I think he's dead."**

** Fang looked from me to the Eraser, then nudged his boot against the still form. It didn't move, didn't blink. Still holding my hand, Fang knelt and put his fingers against the Eraser's wrist, wary and alert for movement.**

** "You're right," he said, standing. "He's dead. What'd you _do_ to him?" **

** "Nothing. I was whaling on him, but it didn't do squat. Then he went down like a tone of bricks." The crowd thickened and moved a bit closer as the rest of the flock raced up. Angel leaped into my arms and burst into tears. I held her tight and shushed her, telling her it was all right, I was safe.**

** Fang flipped the Eraser's color back, just for a second. We both saw the tattoo on the back of his neck: 11-00-07. **"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Ella asked. Mom however looked sickened.

"I think I know," mom said.

** Just then, a cop car pulled up, lights flashing, siren wailing.**

** We started to fade into the background, edging away through the crowd.**

** "Crazy drug addict!" Fang said loudly.**

** Then we strode quickly, turning the first corner we came to. I put Angel down and she trotted next to me, keeping up, sniffling. I held her hand tight and gave her a reassuring smile, but actually I was shaking inside. That had been so freaking close.**

** We _had_ to find the Institute and get the heck out of here – back to the desert. Somewhere they couldn't ever find us. **Fang grunted. **It was late, though. We were almost to the park, where we planned to sleep. In the street beside us, cars and taxis passed, unaware of the high drama that had just taken place.**

** "So he was five years old," Fang said quietly.**

** I nodded. "Made in November, year 2000, number seven of a batch. They're not lasting too long, are they?" How much longer would _we_ last? All of us? Any of us?** Everyone's mood visibly dropped at the reminder that we in fact did _not_ know how long we had.

** I took a deep breath and looked around. MY eye was caught by a taxi with one of those flashing-red-dot signs on top that advertise Joe's Famous Pizza, or a cleaning service, or a restaurant. This one had the words racing across its face: "Every journey begins with one step." **"You manage to point out all the fortune cookie / proverbial sayings you can." Ella said with a weak smile.

** It was like a taxi-fortune cookie. Every journey, one step. One step. I blinked.**

** I stopped where I was and looked down, where my feet were taking one step at a time on this long, bizarre journey.**

** Then I noticed a stunted, depressed tree set into a hole in the sidewalk. A metal grate protected its roots from being trampled. Barely visible between the bars of the grate was a plastic card. **"There we go," mom relaxed just a little bit. "Now you have you're bank card." **I picked it up, hoping I wouldn't see a burning fuse attached to it.**

** It was a bank card, the kind you can use at an ATM. _It had my name on it: Maximum Ride._ I tugged on Fang's sleeve. His eyes widened a tiny bit, so I knew he was astonished.**

** And voila, my ol' pal the Voice popped up just then: _You can use it if you can figure out the password._**And she stiffened a little more again. "How'd you figure it out?" she asked.

"Angel," I said simply and my baby smiled.

** I looked up, but the mystic taxi was long gone.**

** "I can use it if I can figure out the password," I told Fang.**

** He nodded. "Okay."**

** Swallowing, I tucked the card into my pocket.**

** "Let's just get into the park," I said. "Nice, safe Central Park."**

I handed the book to Fang and he started promptly.

**Chapter 95**

I leaned into him as he read with his soothing deep voice.

"**How can the Voice know where I am and what I can see?" I whispered to Fang. All six of us had settled onto the wide, welcoming branches of an enormous oak tree in Central Park. Almost forty feet in the air, we could talk softly with no one hearing us. **"Well that's cool," Ella said, with a smile.

**_Unless the tree was wired._ **"This reality check brought to you by Maximum Ride," the Gasman said in his best announcer voice. I stuck my tongue out at him.

**Believe me, I had lost my ability to be surprisedby stuff like that.**

** "It's inside you," Fang answered, settling back against the tree's trunk. "It's wherever you are. If it's tapped into any of your senses, it knows where you are and what you're doing." **"Oh, gross," Ella said. "Even in the bathroom? Do you know how disturbing that is?" Then she looked at me and registered what she was saying. She smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, Max."

I smiled back, "I thought of that too." I motioned for Fang to keep reading.

** _Oh, no,_ I thought, my spirits sinking. I hadn't considered that. Did that mean nothing I did was ever private anymore?**

** "Even in the bathroom?" The Gasman's eyes widened with surprise and amusement. Nudge suppressed a grin as I gave Gazzy a narrow-eyed glare. Angel was smoothing Celeste's gown and neatening the bear's fur.**

** I took out the bank card and examined it. I still had the one we'd stolen from the jerk in California, and I compared them. The new one seemed just as legit as the old one. I stuck the old one into a deep fissure in the tree's bark – couldn't use it again anyway.** "Why did you keep the jerk's card if you knew you couldn't use it again?" Mom asked.

"In the case of an extreme emergency," I said simply.

** "So we need to figure out the password," I muttered, turning the new card over and over in my hands. Great. That should only take about a thousand years or so. **"Optimistic as always," Iggy said with a sigh. "I miss those days." Both Ella and I whacked him.

** I was beyond tired. I also had an impressive knot on my head from whacking the sidewalk. Because, you know, I didn't have enough head problems lately.**

** Wordlessly, I held out my left fist. Fang put his on top, then Iggy, then Nudge. Gazzy leaned way over from his branch and managed to barely touch us. Angel leaned down and put her fist on Gazzy's, and then Celeste's paw on top of her fist. I heard Gazzy sigh. Or _something_ We all tapped hands, then got comfy on the wide branches. Angel was directly above me, her small foot hanging down to touch my knee. I saw her tuck Celeste firmly against the tree. Kinda sweet.**

** The evening air washed over me. My last thought was that I was thankful we were together and safe for at least one more night.**

"Well, isn't that a cheery ending," Gazzy said.

"It could've been worse," Nudge said, "I mean, it could also have been a lot better, but obviously, Max wasn't in a positive mood, so this was as close was we could get." She reached out and grabbed the book from Fang.

**Chapter 96** She read.

"_**It is unlawful to climb trees in Central Park,"**_"Why are you saying that?" Ella asked. **boomed a tinny but very loud voice.** "Ooooh, never mind." She smiled sheepishly.

**My eyes popped open and instantly met Fang's dark ones. We looked down.**

** A black-and-white **"I don't remember seeing a panda," Gazzy muttered, confused. I rolled my eyes.

"A black-and-white is a police car, Gazzer," Fang said.

"Oooooh," Gazzy replied and Nudge kept reading. **was parked below, its lights flashing. Like in New York they didn't have any more important crimes to work on than a bunch of kids sleeping in a tree.**

"Seriously," Mom said indignantly. "Don't they have better things to do?"

"It was probably Nudge's snoring," Iggy said with a smile.

"I _do not_ snore!"

"Well, it certainly wasn't me," he said with a mischievous smile.

"Oh come on, Ig," Angel said sweetly, "you're the only one who snores."

"If you can even _call_ that a snore," Fang said, coming to Iggy's aid. "It's just a little sigh when he exhales and-"

"And don't forget the squeak when he inhales through his nose." I said with a grin. After a minute of laughter, Nudge continued reading.

** "How did they even know we were up here?" the Gasman muttered. "Who looks up into a tree?"**

** A uniformed cop was talking to us through a PA system. "It is unlawful to climb trees in Central Park," she repeated. "Please come down at once."**

** I groaned. Now we had to shimmy clumsily down instead of just jumping and landing like the amazing super-duper mutants we were. **

** "Okay, guys," I said. "Get down; try to look _normal._ When we're on the ground, we'll make a run for it. If we get separated, connect up at, like, Fifty-fourth Street and Fifth Avenue. _Comprende?"_**

** They nodded. Fang went down first, and Iggy followed him, carefully feeling his way. Man for big adolescent kids, they were some awesome, squirrelly climbers. **"We should have a tree climbing contest next!" Angel said and Gazzy and Nudge's eyes brightened. I told them I'd think about it. Sounded fun to me.

** Angel went next, then Nudge, then Gazzy, and I went last.**

** "There are signs posted everywhere clearly stating that climbing trees is forbidden," on cop began pompously. We started to back away slowly, trying to look as if we weren't really moving.**

** "Are you runaways?" asked the female cop. "We'll take you somewhere. You can make phone calls, call your folks." **"I bet that would've turned out well," Ella said with a tired smile.

** Uh, officer, there's a little problem with that . . . **"Just once I would like to see their faces in a town where _no one_ would recognize us and tell them we were raised in a lab, then let a feather peak out." Nudge said in a long breath. I yawned.

"Keep reading, Nudge," I said. "It's getting late."

** Another cruiser pulled up, and two more police people got out. Then a walkie-talkie buzzed, and the first cop pulled it out to answer it.**

** "Now!" I whispered, and the six of us scattered, tearing away from them as fast as we could.**

** "Celeste!" I heard Angel cry, and I whirled to see her turning back to pick up her little bear. Two cops were racing toward it.** "Oh, no," Mom said.

** _"No!"_ I yelled, grabbing her hand and pulling her with me. She almost fought me, planting her feet and trying to unbend my fingers from around her wrist. I swung her up into my arms and took off, tossing her to Fang when I reached him. **"You make me sound like a ball," Angel said with a 'hmph.'

** With a fast glance back, I saw that the female cop had picked up the bear and was staring after us. Behind her the others were jumping into their cruisers. Just as I sped around a corner, I saw a tall cop sliding into his car. I blinked hard, twice, and my heart seemed to freeze. _It was Jeb. Or was it?_ I shook my head and ran on, catching up to the others. **"Was it?" Mom asked, and I shrugged.

"I'll ask him next time I see him," I said.

** "Celeste!" Angel cried, reaching back over Fang's shoulder. "Celeste!" She sounded heartbroken, and it killed me to make her leave her toy behind. But if I had to choose between Angel and Celeste, it was going to be Angel every time. Even if she hated me for it.** "I would never hate you, Max," Angel said.

** "I'll get you another one!" I promised rashly, my legs pumping as I kept up with Fang.**

** "I don't want another one!" she wailed, putting her arms around Fang's neck and starting to cry.**

** "Have we lost 'em?" the Gasman called back over his shoulder.**

** I looked back. Two police cars with lights and sirens were weaving through the heavy traffic toward us. **"I'll take that as a no," Ella said.

** "No!" I put my head down and ran faster.**

** Sometimes it felt as if we would never be free, be safe. Never, ever, as long as we lived. Which might not be that much longer, anyway. **"On that happy note," I said, standing and stretching. "It's bedtime, folks."

Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel didn't even fuss. They stood up and walked upstairs to prep for bed. I looked at the clock on the wall, shocked to find that it read 11:10. It's beena tiring day. I went up to Ella's room, put on my pajamas and went back down to the sofa to find mom waiting for me.

"What's up?" I asked her.

She looked guiltily up at me from her seat. "You know how you said you'd ask Jeb if that was him in the car the next time you saw him?" I nodded warily. "Well, he called me earlier today. He knows about the books, and knows we're reading them."

"What does he care?" I asked. I had a feeling where this was all headed.

"He wants to come and read with us."


	45. Chapter's 97, 98, & 99

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Maximum Ride series. It belongs to James Patterson.**

Max POV:

I paced the backyard as everyone finished their breakfast. As usual, I didn't get a whole lot sleep. I did, however manage to wake up at 5 am. Make a bowl of cereal and go for a flight around Arizona. What time is it now? Oh, it's still only about 7:30. After having watched me pace back and forth for a good 30 minutes, Fang stood up and pinned my arms to my side.

He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure if this was the right thing to do," I said, looking into his eyes.

"Oh, that," he said, his dark eyes narrowing. "We'll find out soon enough, won't we?"

I groaned and leaned into Fang. He rubbed circles in between my wings, and that helped calm me...if only momentarily. The next thing I knew, I heard a car driving down the street adjacent to the one Mom lives off of. It rounded the corner and it got closer and closer.

I decided I should go ahead and sit in the circle before _he_ comes in. I didn't even know when Fang turned us invisible. All I know is we were sneaking in the window from upstairs and creeping down the stairs silently. We took our places on the couch and take in the scene as _he _was greeted with smiles and a hug from my mom. He shook Ella's hand.

They made their way into the living room and Jeb looked around curiously. The kids sat around us on the sofa in age order, like we were before. Jeb sat down between Angel and Ella by the TV. Finally, I gave in. I reached for the book on the floor in the middle and smiled as it disappeared.

"Are we ready?" I asked as Fang let us both come into focus.

Ella nearly fell off her seat on the chair beside the sofa, and everyone gasped then began laughing as they realize we must have been there for the entire time. Iggy just smiles and shakes his head.

I handed the book to Gazzy and said to Jeb, "I assume they've already filled you in on where we are in the timeline of events...right?"

Everyone nodded. "So was that you, that day, with the cops in central park?" Ella asked suddenly. "When Angel dropped her bear, and then they took off running?"

Jeb thought for a second, probably trying to recall that specific day, then nodded briefly.

"Great," I muttered. "I was right after all. Read Gazzer."

**Chapter 97** He read.

**We headed south and east, out of the park, hoping to get lost among the ever-present crowds of people jamming the streets.**

** Fang put Angel down and she dutifully ran, her small face white and streaked with tears. I felt really, really bad about Celeste. **"Awe, it's okay, Max." Angel said. "I know you were just looking out for me." She smiled at me.

**Iggy ran next to me, his hand out to barely brush against me. He was so good at keeping up, following us, that it was easy to forget sometimes that he was blind. We passed Fifty-fourth Street – the police were still behind us.**

** "Inside a store?" Fang asked, pulling up beside me. "Then out through a back exit?" **"That was smart," Jeb said and Ella nodded. Fang nodded curtly. I looked out the window.

**I thought. If only we could take off, get airborne – leave the ground and the noise and the crowds and the cops behind, be up in the blue, blue sky, free. . . . My wings itched with the urge to snap open, unfurl to their full size, catch the sun and wind in them. **"That would have been great considering you were trying to blend in," Ella said, a mischievous glint in her eyes. I glared at her and she chuckled. However, Gazzy and Nudge cackled as they thought of the Restaurant Incident.

** "Yeah, maybe so," I shot back. "Let's turn east on Fifty-first."**

** We did. Then we pounded down the pavement. Really fast. I almost laughed when I realized it was a one-way street going the wrong way: **Mom grinned. Jeb smirked. _He wasn't following you,_ Angel spoke in my head. That got me.

"Where were you?" I asked Jeb, my voice flat-toned. He sighed.

"There was a situation at … the other branch," He said. "I was needed."

I crossed my arms.

**The cruisers would have to take a detour.**

** If only we could find a safe haven before they caught up to us. . . . **

** "What's _that?"_ Nudge called, pointing.**

** I skidded to a halt, the way they do in cartoons. In front of us was an enormous gray stone building. It soared up into the sky, all pointy and lacy on top, not like a skyscraper. More as if gray stone crystals had grown toward the sky, stretching up and thinning out as they went. There were three arched doors, with the middle one being the biggest. **"Wow," Ella and mom said in unison. "Sounds beautiful." Nudge and Angel nodded.

** "Is it a museum?" Gazzy asked.**

** I scanned for a sign. "No," I said. "It's Saint Patrick's Cathedral. It's a church."**

** "A church!" Nudge looked excited. "I've never been in one. Can we go?"**

** I was about to remind her that we were running for our lives, not playing tourist, **"But you _have _to get inside!" Ella said, wanting to hear more about our little _'sanctuary'. _**but then Fang said quietly, "Sanctuary."**

** And I remember that in the past, churches used to be safe havens for people – cops weren't allowed in them. **"I feel like their allowed in nowadays." Ella said and Mom and Jeb nodded. I huffed, and felt Fang's hand slide slowly around me. **Like hundreds of years ago. That probably wasn't the case anymore. But it was huge and full of tourists, and it was as good a place to try to lost as any. **Gazzy handed the book to Angel with a smile and she started to read the next chapter.

**Chapter 98**

**A steady stream of people was filing through the huge middle double doors. We merged with them and tried to blend in. As we passed through the door, the air was instantly cooler and scented with something that smelled ancient and churchy and just . . . _religious_, somehow.** "I _don't think_ 'churchy' is a word..." Iggy said with a grin-frown thing that only he can do. I rolled my eyes and smacked him.

** Inside, people split up. One group was gathering for a guided tour, and others were simply milling around, reading plaques, picking up pamphlets.** "_Please_ tell me you went on the tour!" Ella said. I shook my head, smiling – only on the inside – at her.

** It was incredibly quiet, considering it was a building the size of a football field, full of hundreds of people.**

** Toward the front, people were sitting or kneeling in pews, their heads bowed.**

** "Let's go," I said softly. "Up there."**

** The six of us walked silently down the cool marble-tile floor toward the huge white altar at the front of the church. Nudge's mouth was wide open, her head craned back as she stared at the sunlight filtering through all the stained-glass windows. Above us the ceiling was three stories high and all arched and carved like a palace.**

** "This place is awesome," breathed the Gasman, and I nodded. I felt good in here, safe, even though Erasers or cops could just stroll through the doors like anybody else. But it was enormous inside, and crowded, and yet there was good visibility. Not a bad place at all. _A good place._**

** "What are those people doing?" Angel whispered.**

** "I think they're praying," I whispered back. **

** "Let's pray too," Angel said.**

** "Uh-" But she had already headed toward an empty pew. She eased her way to the middle, then reached down and pulled out the little kneeler thing. I saw her examine the other people for the proper form, then she knelt and bowed her head onto her clasped hands.**

** I bet she was praying for Celeste.** Angel smiled sheepishly as she read that.

** We filed into the pew after her, kneeling awkwardly and self-consciously. Iggy brushed his hand along Gazzy, light as a feather, then mimicked his position.**

** "What are we praying for?" he asked softly.**

** "Um – anything you want?" I guessed.**

** "We're praying to God, right?" Nudge checked to make sure. **"No," Iggy said, "We're praying to the whitecoats. Who else would we pray to?" Nudge shook her head.

"How was I supposed to know?" She said indignantly.

** "I think that's the general idea," I said, not really having much of a clue. And yet, an odd sensation came over me, like, if you were ever going to ask for anything, this would be the place to do it. With the high, sweeping ceiling, all the marble and glory and religion and passion surrounding us, it felt like this was a place where six homeless kids just might be heard. **I kept my eyes on Jeb as we read this section. He _seemed_ to be taking this news pretty well, to the untrained eye at least. I could see that he was taking everything in, mulling it over in his mind. I expect a breakdown by the time we discover the cages in the Institute.

** "Dear God," said Nudge under her breath, "I want real parents. But I want them to want me too. I wan them to love me. I already love _them. _Please see what you can do. Thanks very much. Love, Nudge." **Moms eyes started watering.

** Okay, so I'm not saying we were pros at this or anything.**

** "Please get Celeste back to me," Angel whispered, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. "And help me grow up to be like Max. And keep everyone safe. And do something bad to the bad guys. They should not be able to hurt us anymore." **Jeb's soft gaze rested on Angel for a minute, before flitting to my face. I looked away. Mom and Ella had tears slipping out of the corners of their eyes.

** _Amen,_ I thought.**

** With surprise, I saw that Fang's eyes were shut. But his lips weren't moving, and I couldn't hear anything. Maybe he was just resting. **

"Just because my lips weren't moving didn't mean that I wasn't praying," Fang said, surprising everyone in the room. I'll ask him about it later. He wouldn't say anything in front of Jeb anyway.

**"I want to be able to see stuff," Iggy said. "Like I used to, when I was little. And I want to be able to totally kick Jeb's butt. Thank you." **"Um," Iggy said, "sorry...?"

"Don't worry about it," Jeb said with a smile.

** "God, I want to be big and strong," the Gasman whispered, and I felt my throat close up, looking at his fly-away pale hair, his eyes shut in concentration. He was only eight, but who knew when his expiration date was? "So I can help Max, and other people too." **Now Mom and Ella weren't holding back the tears at all.

** I swallowed hard, blinking fast to keep any tears at bay. I breathed in heavily and breathed out, then did a surreptitious 360. The whole cathedral was calm, peaceful, Eraser-free.**

** Had that been Jeb I saw, back with the cops? Were the cops really cops or were they goons from the School – or from Institute? **"Both," Jeb said automatically. I looked at him.

"How'd that work out?" Iggy asked, curiously.

"Well, it wasn't hard to mix them in, after all, NYC is pretty big. Not all the cops know each others names."

**What a bummer that Angel had dropped Celeste. Jeez, the kid finally gets to have one thing she cares about, and then fate rips it from her hands.**

** "Please help Angel about Celeste," I found myself muttering, and realized I had closed my eyes. I had no idea who I was talking to – I'd never really thought about if I believed in God. Would God have let the whitecoats at the School do what they had done to us? How did it work exactly? **

** But I was on a roll now, so I went with it. "And help me be a better leader, a better person," I said, moving my lips with no sound. "Make me braver, stronger, smarter. Help me take care of the flock. Help me find some answers. Uh, thanks." I cleared my throat. **

** I don't know how long we were there – till my knee-caps started to go numb.**

** It was like a beautiful peace stole over us, the way a soft breeze would smooth our feathers.**

** We liked this house. We didn't want to leave. **"Did you have too?" Mom asked quietly, knowing we were quite safe there.

I nodded as Angel passed the book to Jeb who stared at it for a minute before he began reading. I guess he was contemplating his obviously painful choices (and I mean painful for us).

**Chapter 99 **Jeb read after a minute.

**I gave serious thought to staying in that cathedral, hiding, sleeping there. There were choir lofts way up high, and the place was huge. Maybe we could do it. I turned to Fang.**

** "Should we-" I winced as a sharp pain burst in my head. **Mom winced. **The pain wasn't as bad as before, but I shut my eyes and couldn't speak for a minute. **"When do they stop?" Mom asked.

"Sometime later on . . ." I said.

** The images came, sliding across my brain like a movie. There were architectural drawings, blueprints, what looked like subway lines. Double helixes of DNA twisted and spiraled across my screen, then were overlaid with faded, unreadable newspaper clippings, staccato chunks of sound, colored postcards of New York. One image of a building stayed for a few seconds, a tall, greenish building. I saw it's address: Thirty-first Street. Then a stream of numbers floated past me. Man, oh, man, oh, man – what did it mean? **"The hint you needed, right?" Ella asked, unsure of what it all meant. I nodded. "So now you just need to figure it out." she groaned. I felt my lip twitch. That's about as close as I was going to get to a smile today.

** I took a couple deep breaths, feeling the pain ease away. My eyes opened in the dim light of the cathedral. Five very concerned faces were watching me. **

** "Can you walk?" Fang asked tersely. I nodded.**

** We went out through the tall doors behind a group of Japanese tourists. It was too bright outside, and I shaded my eyes, feeling headachy and kind of sick.** "But that's not as bad as you'd felt before," Nudge noted with a smile, trying to cheer my mom up a little.

** As soon as we were away from the crowd, I stopped. "I saw Thirty-first Street, in my head," I said. "And a bunch of numbers."**

** "Which means . . ." Iggy prompted.**

** "I don't know," I admitted. "Maybe the Institute is on Thirty-first Street?"**

** "That would be nice," said Fang. "East or west?"**

** "I don't know."**

** "Did you see anything else?" he asked patiently.**

** "Well, a bunch of numbers," I said again. "And a tall, kind of greenish building."**

** "We should just walk all the way down Thirty-first Street," said Nudge. **"All the way down Thirty-first? Isn't that a really long walk?" Ella asked and my kids nodded wearily at the memory.

"**The whole way, looking for that building. Right? I mean, if that's the building you saw, maybe it was for a good reason. Or did you see a whole lot of buildings, or a whole city, or what?"**

** "Just that building," I said.**

** Nudge's brown eyes widened. Angel looked solemn. We all felt the same: twitchy with nervous anticipation and also overwhelmed with dread. On the one hand, the Institute might very well hold the key to everything – the answer to ever question we'd ever had about ourselves, our past, our parents. We might even find out about the mysterious director the whitecoats had mentioned. On the other hand, it felt like we were voluntarily going up to the School and ringing the doorbell. Like we were delivering ourselves to evil. And those two feelings were pulling us all in half.**

** _You never know until you know,_ my Voice chimed in.** I glared at Jeb as he passed the book.

"What?" he asked as Ella took the book from him.

"my 'Voice'," I started, "can be a real pain in the you-know-where. For once, it'd be nice if it actually didn't have me going in circles."

Jeb shrugged. "As you know, it wasn't always me. But I couldn't give you the answers straight out in any way. You had – and still have – to come up with them on your own."

At this Ella started to read, sensing the tension between us.

_**AN:**_

_**I'M ALIVE! **_** And back. With more. I promise. Sorry for the three month pause there. . . . but hey, I struggled with this chapter. . . and it's done now. . . so . . . . yup.**

**Anyway. REVIEW with questions, favorite Christmas gift and if you think I should just stop or what. (which, by the way, I will not be doing. I will NEVER give up on this story.) **

**Until next time,**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	46. Chapter's 100, 101, & 102

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Maximum Ride series. It belongs to James Patterson.**

Max POV:

**Chapter 100** Ella read as I glared at Jeb.

"**So do we have money? I hope?" the Gasman asked as we passed a street vendor selling Polish sausage.** "Oh, Max," Mom said, "you really need to figure out the password. You need food." Jeb looked away. Fang held my hand. I glared less harmfully (if I was glaring nuclear bombs before, I was glaring baby nuclear bombs. Still enough to get my point across).

** "Maybe," I said, pulling out the bank card. What do you think?" I asked Fang. "should we try this?"**

** "Well, we need money, for sure," he said. "But it might be a trap, a way for them to track where we are and what we're doing." **"I taught you well." Jeb muttered with a faint smile. I clenched my teeth.

** "Yeah." I frowned.**

** _It's okay, Max. You can use it, _said my Voice. _Once you get the password._**

**_ Thank you, Voice,_ I thought sourly. Any hopes of you just _telling _me the freaking password? Of course not. God forbid anything should come easily to us.**

** We had to have money. We could try begging, but we'd probably get the cops called on us ASAP. **"Why?" Ella asked. **Runaways and all that. **"Oh, that makes sense," she said. ** Getting jobs was out of the question also. Stealing? It was a last resort. We weren't to that point yet.**

** This bank card would work at any number of different banks. Taking a deep breath, I swerved over to an ATM. I swiped the card and punched in "maxride."**

** No dice.**

** Next I tried our ages: 14, 11, 8, 6.**

** Wrong.**

** I tried typing in "password."** Ella started laughing. "How many times did it take you to figure it out?" I crossed my all ready tense arms.

** Wrong. The machine shut down and told me to call customer service.**

** We kept walking. In a way, it was like we were deliberately slowing ourselves down, to give us time to buck up for the Institute. Or at least, that's what my inner Dr. Laura thought. **"Dr. Laura?" Nudge asked. "Did you mean Dr. Phil?"

I sighed. "I couldn't very well write 'Dr. Phil' in my book could I? I couldn't name any famous people." She shrugged and Ella kept reading.

** "What about, like, the first initial of all of our names?" the Gasman suggested.**

** "Maybe it's something like 'givememoney,'" Nudge said. **"Oh, if only it were that simple," Mom said.

** I smiled at her. "It has to be shorter than that."**

** Beside me, Angel was walking with her head down, her little feet dragging.**

** If I had money, I could get her another Celeste.**

** In the next block, at a different ATM, I tried the first initials of all our names: "MFINGA." Nope. **"No luck," Ella said.

"Actually, we just have _bad _luck," Gazzy said. "That's at least _some _luck. . . right?"

** I tried "School" and "Maximum."**

** It told me to call customer service.**

** Farther on, I keyed in "Fang," "Iggy," and "Gasman."**

** In the next block, I tried "Nudge" and "Angel," then on a lark I tried today's date.**

** They really wanted me to call customer service. **By this time, most of the room was laughing. Hey, if it weren't for Jeb I would have been laughing. But I couldn't let myself act that way in front of him – as if he'd been there for me through everything.

** I know what you're thinking: Did I try our birthdays or our Social Security numbers?**

** No. None of us knew our actual birth dates, though we had each picked a day we liked and called it our birthday. **"Did you give them the card?" Ella asked, and Jeb shrugged.

"Well, yes, that was me, but I didn't set the password."

"Well, there goes that theory," she said sadly.

"Jeb!" Mom blurted out, glaring at him. "You knew her birthday, why didn't you ever tell her anything?" He actually had the nerve to look ashamed.

"I-I . . . well," He stuttered.

"He was otherwise preoccupied," I said coldly, not really caring. But then the thought of my _mom_ knowing struck me. "When _is _my birthday?" I knew I was roughly 16 years old. But other than that, I was clueless.

"March 15th," mom said. I just shrugged, not really caring, but then I looked at Iggy who was 'gazing' intently like he was trying to see something.

"So wait, if how we figured out our ages are, then Fang's birthday is around June 15th. That means mine's probably around September 15th."

"Point being?" Fang asked.

"_Point being_ your birthday's next," Iggy said, mischievously, his sightless eyes lighting up. "In fact, you're birthday's not too far away..."

"El?" I asked, "keep reading." Internally, I rolled my eyes at my birdbrother's antics.

**And the nut jobs at the School had mysteriously neglected to register any of us with the Social Security Administration. So none of us could retire any time soon.**

** I stopped in front of the next ATM but shook my head in frustration. "I don't know what to do," I admitted and maybe it was the second time those words had ever left my lips.** Jeb looked at me, and I hated that gaze. It was his 'fatherly-let-me-help' gaze that he used to do back at the E-house.

"When was the other time?" Ella asked. I glared at her – not really meaning to be harsh – but I don't like sharing deeply personal stuff.***** "Never mind..." she trailed off.

** Angel looked up tiredly, her blue eyes sad. "Why don't you try 'mother'?" she asked, and started tracing a crack on the sidewalk with the toe of her sneaker.**

** "Why do you think that?" I asked, surprised.**

** She shrugged, her arm moving to hold Celeste tighter and then falling emptily to her side.** "Awe," mom and Ella said together. Angel blushed then smiled.

** Fang and I exchanged glances, then I slowly spied the bank card and punched in the numbers that would spell out "mother."**

** WHAT KIND OF TRANSACTION DO YOU WANT TO MAKE? the screen asked.**

** Speechless, I withdrew two hundred dollars and zipped it into my inside pocket.**

** "How did you know that?" Fang asked Angel. His tone was neutral, but tension showed in his walk. **"How _did _you know that?" Ella asked. Angel shrugged.

"I really don't know," she responded. "It was just in my head for some reason. I don't know why."

** Angel shrugged again, her small shoulders dropping. Even her curls looked limp and sad. "It just came to me," she said.**

** "In a voice?" I asked, wondering if _my_ Voice was hopping around. **

** She shook her head no. "The word was just in my head. I don't know why."**

** Once again, Fang and I looked at each other but didn't say anything. I didn't know what was on his mind, but I was thinking about how Angel had been at the School for a few days before we rescued her. Who knows what happened there? What kind of foul disgusting experiments? Maybe they'd planted a chip in her too.**

** Or worse.**

"Nothing was placed in her," Jeb said as Ella glanced sideways at him. Ella handed mom the book.

**Chapter 101** She read.

**A few more blocks and we turned left, walking toward the East River. Inside me, the tension mounted. My breath was coming in short huffs. Every step was bringing us closer to what could be the Institute: the place where the secrets of our lives might be revealed, all our questions answered.** "Not all of the files were kept there," Jeb said, to my irritation. "In fact, they were kept in four different facilities." At this I looked at him, curiosity breaking through.

"So what happened to them after the schools shut down? Are they still out there?" Ella asked, practically reading my mind.

Jeb shrugged and said he'd talk about this later. His smug expression told me he was glad to finally get a reasonable, comprehensive response from me.

** And here's the thing: I wasn't even sure I wanted my questions answered. What if my mom had given me away on purpose, **I barely registered mom's face as she read this, but what I caught was a mixture of pain, hurt, and love. **Like Gasman and Angel's? What if my parents were horrible people? Or what if they were wonderful, fabulous people who didn't want a freak mutant daughter with thirteen-foot_ wings?_ **"Actually, mine are now thirteen-feet. Yours are more like, fifteen-feet." Nudge said. **I mean, not knowing almost seemed easier. **

** But we walked along, examining each building. Again and again the others looked at me, only to see me shake my head no. We walked down several _looong_ blocks, and with each step, I was getting more and more uptight, and so was everyone else. **"Just hearing this is making me tired and sore!" Ella said.

** "I wonder what the Institute is like," Nudge said nervously. **There was a collective shudder from my flock as we remembered what happened down in that dreadful place. **"I guess it's like the School. Will we have to break in? How do they hide the Erasers from all the normal people? What kind of files on us do you think they have? Like actual parent names, you think?" **And now there was a sigh from Iggy, Nudge and Angel.

** "For God's sake, Nudge, my ears are bleeding!" Iggy said with his usual tact. **Nudge glared at Iggy as Ella smacked him. "Hey! It was, like, over two years ago!" He said as he rubbed his leg.

** Her sweet face shut down, and I put my arm around her shoulders briefly. "I know you're worried," I said softly. "I am too."**

** She smiled at me, and then I saw it: **The Gasman gasped. "Could it be?"** 433 East Thirty-first Street. **_"No!"_

"Gazzy!" Angel and Nudge said, ambushing him, but by the end, all three were giggling.

** It was the building from the drawing in my brain.**

"Wa-ait," Iggy said. "say what?"

"**It was the building from the drawing in my brain,**" Mom said again with a bit of a chuckle in her tone. The rest of the room laughed. I crossed my arms and waited it out.

** And if you don't think_ that's _a weird sentence, maybe you should reread it.**

Part of the room laughed.

** The building rose tall, maybe forty-five stories, and had a greenish facade, kind of old-fashioned looking. **

** "Is this it?" Iggy asked.**

** "Yep," I said. "Are we ready?"**

** "Aye, Captain!" Iggy said firmly and saluted.**

** I so wished he could see me roll my eyes at him.** "Gee, that feeling sure has changed," I said with heavy sarcasm, feeling my eyes roll again.

** We marched up the steps and pushed through revolving doors. **"Revolving doors? Awesome!" Ella said. "What? I'm a little easily amused, so what?"

I stuck my tongue out at her then shut myself back down. _You're not allowed to act like this with Jeb here, _I told myself.

**Inside, the lobby was all polished wood, brass, and big tropical plants. The floor was smooth granite tiles.**

** "Here," said Fang softly, pointing to a large display board behind glass. It listed all the offices and companies in the building and their floors and room numbers. **"I don't think the Institute is there," mom said and Ella looked at her.

"Why not?"

"Why would there be a secret facility in a huge public building like that? It'd have to be more hidden, especially if it's anything like they're thinking it is." Wow. My mom's more perceptive than I thought. I _internally _smiled.

"Ooooh," Ella said.

"We were close though," I said remembering the next couple days.

** There was no Institute for Higher Living. There was no institute of any kind.**

** Because that would have been too easy, right?**

** I rubbed my forehead, holding back bitter words of disappointment. Inside, I felt like crying and yelling and stomping around, and then getting into a hot shower and crying some more.**

** Instead, I took a deep breath and tried to think. I looked around. No other office lists anywhere.**

** At the reception desk, a woman sat behind a laptop computer. A security guard had another desk across the lobby.**

** "Excuse me," I said politely. "Are there any other companies in this building that aren't on the board?"**

** "No." The receptionist looked us over, then went back to typing something incredibly urgent – like her resume for another job. We turned away just as the receptionist made a sound of surprise. Glancing back, I saw that her computer screen had cleared. The pit of my stomach started to hurt. **"Ooh, this outta be good," Iggy said, rubbing his hands together.

** _There's a pot of gold beneath every rainbow,_ filled her laptop screen in big red letters. The message broke up into small letters that scrolled across the screen over and over, filling it.** "Um, what in the...?" Ella asked. "What rainbow?"

** Pot of gold beneath every rainbow . . . Okay, did leprechauns work here? Was Judy Garland going to burst into song? Why couldn't I just get some straight information? Because it was a puzzle, a test. I literally gnashed my teeth. Beneath every . . . Hmm. **

** "Does this building have a basement?" I asked.** "Oh!" Ella and mom said together.

** The receptionist frowned at me and looked us over again with a harder gaze.**

** "Who are you?" she asked. "What do you want?" she lifted her chin and caught the eye of the security guard. _Were they Erasers?_ They definitely _could _be Erasers. This whole building might be full of despicable wolf men.**

** "Never mind," I muttered, pushing the others toward the revolving doors. The security guard was already on our tails, and just as we all got through, I jammed a ball-point pen into the door channel. The guard was trapped inside one section and started throwing his weight against the glass. **Mom, Jeb and Ella were laughing at that and Angel giggled.

** On the street, we hit the ground running.**

Mom handed me the book and I started to read.

**Chapter 102**

**My lungs were burning. Know the feeling? About six blocks later, we slowed to a walk. No one seemed to be following us, no cop cars had emerged from the traffic, no sign of Erasers. **Mom let out a small sigh of relief. **My head was pounding and hurt like crazy. I felt like I needed a time-out from life.**

** With no warning, the Gasman turned and punched a mailbox. **"Gazzy? Punched a _mailbox_?" Ella asked, astonished.

Gazzy smiled sheepishly. **"This sucks!" he yelled. "Nothing ever goes right! We get hassled everywhere! Max's head is busted, Angel lost Celeste, we're all hungry – I hate this! I hate everything!"**

"What can I say? Everyone has their moments. . . .right?" He looked at me, and I gave him a reassuring smile.

** Stunned, I shut my gaping jaw and went over to him. When I put my hand on his shoulder, he pushed it away. The others crowded around – it was so unusual for Gazzy to break down like this. He was always my little trouper.**

** _Crap._**

** The flock was watching me, waiting for me to tell the Gasman to snap out of it, get it together.**

** Stepping forward, I wrapped my arms around Gazzy, surrounding him. I rested my head against his and just held him tight. I smoothed his light hair with my fingers and felt his narrow back shaking. **"So that's what you did," Iggy muttered to himself.

** "I'm sorry, Gazzy," I murmured. "You're right. This has really sucked. I know it's hard sometimes. Listen, what would make you feel better right now?" I swear, if he'd said, _Check into the Ritz,_ I would have done it. **Gazzer's eyes brightened. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Max," he said.

** He sniffled and straightened a bit, wiping his face on his grubby sleeve. I resolved to get us new clothes soon. 'Cause I was Ms. Bank Card.**

** "Really?" he said, sounding very small and young.**

** "Really."**

** "Well, I just want – I just want to, like, sit down somewhere and eat a lot of food. Not just get food while we're walking. I want to _sit down _and _rest_ and _eat."_**

** I looked solemnly into his eyes. "I think that can be arranged."**

I handed the book to Fang and mom groaned.

"That can't end well," she said. "Nothing like that ever ends well for you."

I smiled despite myself. "Oh, but sometimes, it isn't always _that_ bad."

**AN: *PHEW* holy cow. Okay guys, chapter complete. **

**On a side note. **

**Guess what I've been teaching myself? JAPANESE!**

**I've totally fallen in love with that language! I can already say your typical greetings, ask how you're feeling, and say that something's a dog, apple, cat, horse, bird, or water. :D**

**Example: **

**Konban wa! Ogenki desu ka? Neko desu. **

**Translation: **

**Good evening! How are you? (I'm/He/She/It's) a Cat.**

**But don't worry, I'm not abandoning Max for my new fetish. :) In fact, I'm working on my new chapter as you read this. That is, if you're reading this on March 2nd 2012. So, have no fear!**

**:D **

**Hunger Games anyone? Holy Cow! I'm _soooooooooooo _beyond excited, it's been left in the dust about 10 miles back. ^_^ I can _not_ wait for it to get here! In your review, tell me what your most looking forward to this month! **

**Spell ya later!**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	47. Chapter's 103, 104, & 105

_**Claim of dissing:**_I do not own the Maximum Ride series. It belongs to James Patterson.

Zammielicious98: Thanks! Hahaha. Japanese is pretty awesome. You were pretty close: Konnichi wa. :) THG: LOOVED it! o.o It was soooo good! I saw it twice. ^_^ The next max book (Which by the way is the last) is set to come out sometime in August I think...and your review made me laugh, fyi. :)

Teenbooks4eva: I hope you get unstuck! o.o I want to see that one too!

Turtlelover0511: yup. . . at least. . . I was. . . until my app ended. D: It was only the free version, but I didn't realize there was a limit to it's number of lessons. :/ French is cool too! I tried that one once. :)

Lillypad22: I know, right? I loved his little breakdown. :)

Riverpebble: It's here now, isn't it? Patience will get you far. :P :D You wouldn't happen to be a Warriors fan, would you? Just wondering, cause. . Well. . . I'm quite the warriors fanatic if you can believe it. *Sheepish grin*

Musicismyblood: DUDE. Awesome name. ^_^ I wanna see them too! I saw the Lorax with my sister... and didn't know it was a musical. Lol. It was FAN-flipping-TASTIC! I LOVED it! and Hunger Games? 0.0 o.o LOVED. IT.! and now the wait begins for Catching Fire. *sigh*

Wolfhead: lol. Yeah well. I don't get spring break. But I am done with school. so. Whatevs. *shrug*

Darkerthanmidnight: Thank you! I love making people happy, but I'm so sorry it took so long. Seriously. Sometimes these things come so easily. (like, I did over half of the comments _today_: 4/12). but sometimes. Ugh. So . Stinking . Hard.

EmpressOfSarcasm: A$H! You're awesome. Just to let you know. :) And thanks! :D HG was awesome, was it not?

Alina: Konnichi wa! (Hello!) Thanks for being my 340th reviewer! Kudos to you! I'm so glad you're enjoying this story! I tried. As you'll see below. To do what you asked for. :)

READ ON, VIEWERS!

(ライン [(pronounced: Re Nay)translation: the line])

**Chapter 103** Fang read in his calm, steady voice that hardly ever showed emotion.

**We ended up near Central Park, searching for a place to eat. A diner on Fifty-seventh Street looked good, but there was a half-hour wait. Then, off the street inside the park, we saw a restaurant. Millions of tiny blue lights covered the oak trees that surrounded it. The sign said, Parking for Garden Tavern, This Way. Plunked among the trees was a huge building with tons of plate glass windows overlooking the park.** "Oooh," Ella said, "it sounds so cool!" Angel, Nudge and Gazzy's eyes all lit up.

"It was AWESOME." They said in unison.

** Gazzy said excitedly. "This looks _great!_"**

** It was also the last place on earth I wanted us to go. Too big, too flashy, too expensive, and no doubt full of trendy grown-ups. We were not going to blend. We would not be inconspicuous. **"I'm sorry, Max," Gazzy said, his eyes scrunching up. "I didn't mean to make you any more stressed."

"It's okay, Gaz," I told him with a sincere smile, "honestly, it all worked out."

** And yet, the Gasman wanted to eat here. And I had promised him pretty much anything he wanted.**

** "Uh, okay," I said, already feeling dread and anxiety seeping from my pores. Fang pulled open the heavy glass door, and we stepped inside. **

** "Whoa,"Nudge said, her eyes wide.**

** From the reception area, we could see three different dining rooms. There was the Prism Room, which was dripping with crystals, basically: chandeliers, candelabras, faceted windows. ** "I wanted to eat in that one," Nudge said with a look of longing on her face.

"Me too," Angel said mirroring** Door number two led to the Garden Room, which was like a lush, overgrown rainforest, but with tables, chairs, and waiters. **"I liked that one," Angel said with a grin.** The third one was the Castle Room, for those of us who needed to feel regal while we chowed. **"I really liked that one," Angel said, _again. _

"You can't like _all _of them, Angel," Gazzy said, crossing his arms.

"Yes I can," She said crossing her arms right back.

**They all had soaring ceilings with rafters. The Castle Room had an open fireplace big enough to roast a steer.**

** I was glad to see we weren't the only kids – though we _were _the only ones without a grown-up.**

** May I help you? A tall, blond, modelly woman glanced at us, then looked to see who we were with. Are you waiting for your parents?"**

** "No," I said. There's just us." I smiled. "Can we have a table for six, please? I'm treating everybody with my birthday money." Another lie, another smile.** "They're not going to like that..." Mom muttered worriedly.

** "Um, okay," said the hostess. She led us to a table in the Castle Room, way back by the kitchen. Since the kitchen would be a useful escape route, if necessary, I didn't quibble.**

** She passed out large, very fancy menus as we scrambled into our seats. "Jason will be your server today." With one last, uncertain glance, she left us.**

** "Max, this is so, so great," Nudge said excitedly, clutching her enormous menu. "This is the nicest place we've ever eaten!"**

"Yeah. . . .that's a major understatement." Ella said with a grimace.

** Since we've Dumpster-dived for lunch on many occasions, this was an understatement.**

** Fang, Iggy, and I were miserable. Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel were ecstatic.**

** Actually, the Castle room, would have been neat, if I didn't hate crowds, sticking out, grown-ups, feeling paranoid, and spending money. **

** On to the menu. I was relieved to see that they had a kids' section. **"Why?" Ella asked, curiosity taking over, once more.

"What? Just because we may eat as much as a starving lion doesn't mean we don't like the kid's menu." Nudge said, sticking out her tongue. Ella laughed, trying to picture Nudge as a lion. Gazzy roared and Angel giggled. Mentally, I smiled. I loved my family.

"Speaking of food," Iggy said, rising, "I'm going to get a snack. Anyone want anything?"

"Lemonade!" Angel said.

"Carrots!" Nudge said.

"Marshmallows!" Gazzy said.

"Cookies!" Ella said.

"No cookies," Mom said, but seeing my face turn from the only emotion I know how to produce when Cookies are involved to what must have been quite terrifying for mom she altered her previous statement. "Fine, _four_ cookies. And only for Max. But that's all you'll get till lunch." I beamed at her, I could live with that. Then remembered Jeb was here, and went back to scowling at the table. I heard him shuffle into the kitchen as Fang continued reading.

** "Are you waiting for your parents?" A short, stocky waiter with slicked-back red hair – Jason – was standing next to Iggy.**

** "No, there's just us," I said.**

** He frowned slightly and gave us a once-over. "Ah. Are you ready to order?"**

** "Anyone know what they want?" I asked.**

** The Gasman looked up. "How many chicken tenders are on a plate?"**

** Jason looked almost pained. "I believe there are four."**

** "I better have two orders, then," said the Gasman. "And this fruit cocktail. And two glasses of milk."** "Maybe you should have ordered a little less," mom said, still worried.

I sighed, "Let's _not_ go over my mistakes until the end of the book, okay?"

"Are there that many?" Ella asked.

Iggy snorted and Ella smacked him. "I was 14, okay? I made a lot of mistakes. The point is, I learned from them. Fang, just read." I finished, giving him a specific look which he promptly obeyed.

** "Two orders for yourself?" Jason clarified.**

** The Gasman nodded. "With fries. To start."**

** "I want a hot fudge sundae," said Angel.**

** "Real food first," I said. "You need fuel."**

"Here," Iggy muttered, passing out the various goodies. It took all I had not to melt completely like the chocolate chips when I took a bite of my cookies. As it was, I leaned further into Fang, and smiled a small smile to myself.

** "Okay," Angel said agreeably, then blinked and looked up at Jason. "We're not spoiled rich brats," she said. "We're just hungry." **

** Jason started, then his face flushed and he shifted his feet. **"I don't like this Jason guy," mom said. Ella bobbed her head beside Iggy.

** "I want this prime rib thing," Angel said, looking at the adult side of the menu. "And all this stuff that goes with it. And a soda. And lemonade."**

** "The prime rib is sixteen ounces," our waiter said. "It's a _pound_ of meat."**

** "Uh-huh," Angel said, wondering what he was getting at.**

** "She can handle it," I said. "She's a big eater. Nudge? What do you want?"**

** "This lasagna primavera," Nudge decided. "I might need two. It comes with salad, right? And bread? Some milk. Okay?" She looked at me, and I nodded.**

** Jason just stood there – he thought we were pulling his leg. "Two lasagnas?"**

** "You might want to start writing this stuff down," I suggested. I waited till he had noted their orders, then said, "I'll start with the shrimp cocktail. Then the maple-glazed pork loin, with the cabbage and potatoes and everything. The house salad with bleu cheese dressing. And a lemonade and an iced tea." **"Yeah...I think you overordered for this place," Ella said slowly with a straight face.

"Just wait!" Gazzy said, "you've gotta wait for the rest of the restaurant story. It really does get better."

** Jason wrote it all down, as if he were enduring an hour-long eye-poke. **"He was _really_ annoying," Angel said and Nudge nodded in agreement.

** "The lobster bisque," Fang said. "Then the prime rib. A big bottle of water."**

** "The spaghetti and meatballs," Iggy said. **"Is that all?" Ella asked, astounded. "Normally you get so much more..." Iggy humphed and crossed his arms.

"I just wanted the spaghetti," he said with a lopsided frown, munching into his own rice crispy thing.

** "That's on the children's menu," our waiter said, sounding tense. "For our patrons twelve and under."**

** Iggy looked ticked off.**

** "How about the rack of lamb?" I said quickly. "It come with potatoes and spinach, and a Merlot-rosemary sauce."**

** "Fine, okay," Iggy said, irritated. "Plus a couple glasses of milk and some bread."**

** Jason lowered his pad and looked at us. "This is a great deal of food for just the six of you," he said. "Maybe you've overordered." **"Here's where it started _really_ going downhill," Nudge said.

** "I understand your concern," I said, my tension starting to get the better of me. "But it's okay. Just bring it, please." **

** "You'll have to pay for all of it, whether you eat it or not."**

** "Yeah, that's _usually_ how a restaurant works," I said slowly, with exaggerated patience.**

** "This is going to really add up," he persisted unwisely.**

** "I _get _it," I said, trying unsuccessfully to keep my cool. "I _get_ the concept. Food costs _money._ _Lots _of food costs _lots_ of money. Just bring us what we ordered. Please." **"Wow, Max said please," Ella said. I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Except, when she said it, it wasn't really a 'please,' it was more of a 'do it now or I'll rip out your esophagus through your throat and hit you repeatedly with it' kind of 'please.'"

"_Thank you, _Nudge, now can you get me some gauze for my ears?" Iggy asked playfully.

** Jason looked at me stiffly and stalked away toward the kitchen.**

** "I love this place," Fang said with a straight face.**

** "Did we order too much?" Angel asked.**

** "No," I said. "It's fine. I guess they're not used to hearty eaters."**

** An underling brought us two baskets of bread and set out small dishes of olive oil. Even she seemed skeptical.**

** My fingers curled into claws on the white tablecloth. And it all kind of went downhill from there.** Fang passed the book to Nudge.

**Chapter 104**

"**Good afternoon." A man in a suit and tie had materialized at my elbow. Jason was with him. **Mom put her head in her hands. "Great," she said. "They called the manager."

** "Hello," I said warily.**

"This ought to be good," Ella said just as warily as I had at the actual time.

** "I am the manager. Is there something I can help you with?" he asked.**

** Was this a trick question? "Well, I don't think so," I said. "Unless the kitchen is out of something we ordered."**

** "Yes, well, said the manager. "You seem to have ordered an unusual quantity of food. We wouldn't want to be wasteful with it, or present you with a shocking bill because your eyes were bigger than your stomachs." He gave a small artificial laugh. **"Oh, if only he knew," Mom and Jeb said together as they eyed us all down.

** "Well, that is just so sweet of you," I said, close to my breaking point. "But we're pretty hungry. It seems like we should just order and get what we ordered, you know?"**

** This didn't go over as well as you would think.**

** The manager took on a look of forced patience. "Perhaps you would be happier in some other restaurant," he said. "Broadway is nearby." **

** I couldn't believe this. "No freaking _duh,_" I snapped, finally losing it. "But we're _in _this one and we're _hungry_. Now, I have the money, we brought our appetites with us; are you going to give us what we ordered or not?"**

** The manager looked like he had just sucked on a lemon. "_Not_, I believe," he said, signaling to a burly guy loitering by the doors.** "Here it comes," Gazzy said, sitting on the edge of his seat, I don't know why he was so excited. But then again, it was quite funny. Then Angel got an idea; I could see it on her face.

_"It'll be good, trust me," _ I heard in my head. I mentally scoffed. If I haven't heard that before. . .

** Great, just great. I rubbed my forehead.**

** "This is stupid," Iggy said angrily. "Let's just split. Gasser, we'll go someplace that isn't run by Nazis, okay?"**

** "Okay," said the Gasman uncertainly.**

** Angel looked up at the manger. "Jason thinks you're full of hot air and that you smell like a sissy," she said. "And what's a _himbo?_"**

** Jason stifled a choking sound and turned red. The manger turned to glare at him.**

** "Fine," I said, standing up and throwing my napkin down. "We're going. The food's probably lousy here, anyway."**

** That was when the cops showed up.**

** _Who called the cops?_**

** _Were they real cops?_**

** I wasn't planning to stay around and ask them.** Nudge handed the chapter to Gazzy quickly as mom and Ella tensed.

**Chapter 105 **He read.

**Remember how the kitchen was going to provide a useful escape route? That would have worked great if the cops hadn't split up, two coming in the front, two more coming in through the – you guessed it – kitchen. **

** All around us, tables of people were staring open-mouthed. This was probably the most exciting the that had happened to them all week.**

** "Up and away," Fang said, and I nodded reluctantly.**

** Nudge and Iggy looked surprised, Gazzy grinned, and Angel got that determined look on her face.**

** "Right, kids," said a female cop, weaving her way through the tables. "You have to come with us. We'll call your folks down at the station."**

** Jason shot me a superior smile, and suddenly I was furious. How hard would it be for someone to cut us just one break? Without stopping to think, **"Oh, this ought to be good," Ella said with a chuckle. I stuck my tongue out at her. **I snatched up the bowl of olive oil and upturned it on his head. His mouth opened in an _O_ as pale green oil streaked down his face.** "Serve's you right," Ella choked out a laugh.

** If that surprised him, what happened next would rock his world.**

** Moving fast, as only a mutant bird kid could, I jumped up on a chair, **"You didn't," mom said, her mouth dropping slowly. **stepped onto our table, **"You did," Ella said with a sparkle in her eye. **then threw myself into the air, sapping my wings open and pushing down hard. I dropped alarmingly toward the ground – hadn't had a running takeoff, which is always best – but surged upward again with the next stroke and rose toward the high raftered ceiling.**

** Angel joined me, then Iggy, the Gasman, Nudge, and Fang.**

** Looking down, I couldn't help but laughing at everyone's faces. "Astonished" doesn't cover it. They were stunned, dumbstruck, completely freaked out.**

** "Jerk!" the Gasman yelled, and pelted the manager with pieces of bread.**

** Fang was circling the ceiling, looking for a way out. I saw that the cops had started to recover and were fanning out.**

** I won't lie to you – it was hilarious. Yes, we were in trouble, yes, this was a disaster, and so on and so forth, but I have to say, seeing all those upturned faces, the looks, was about the best thing that had happened to us since we'd come to New York. **

** "Up here!" Fang shouted, and pointed to one of the stained-galls skylights.**

** "Come on, guys!" I yelled, just as I realized that flashes from cameras were going off – seriously bad news. _"Let's go!" _**"I always knew that was you," mom said. I looked at her, confused. "I saw the articles on the internet of six amazing/terrifying angel mutants in NYC. It wasn't exactly a quiet outburst." I groaned. Lovely.

** Fang ducked his head, covered it with his arms and flew straight up through the window. It burst with a rainbow-colored crash, and bits of glass sprinkled down.**

** Iggy was right behind Nudge, his fingers brushing her ankle, and they flew through next, tucking their wings in at the last second to fit.**

** "Angel, go!" I ordered, and she shot through, her small white wings looking just like Celeste's. "Gasser! Move it!" I saw him swoop down one last time to grab someone's abandoned dessert. Shoving an entire eclair into his mouth, he nodded and aimed himself through the window. I went last, and then I was in the open air, stretching my wings, filling my lungs. I knew we had just made a crucial, devastating mistake and that we'd have to pay for it.**

** But you know what? It was almost worth it.**

** The _looks_ on all those faces . . . **

"What I would give to see the faces on those poor people," Ella said with a laugh. "Man, that would have been _awesome._"

Just then, as Gazzy put the book down, a single image floated into my mind and I knew it was from Angel. It was the people in the restaurant, all those faces. Some awed, some frightened, a few kids laughing and pointing. Oh it was worth it. I shook my head and the image disappeared.

"Well, thanks, Angel," I said with a little chuckle of my own. Ella and mom were still busy laughing. "I need to stretch," I said as I walked toward the door. "Anyone with me?" Fang walked by my side, thank fully. I wanted him with me. The kids came too, except for Iggy. He said he was going to get lunch 'prepped'. I don't know. Ella agreed to stay and help.

"Be back in 10, Max, okay? We're getting close to the end of this book." Mom said.

**AN: Okay. I'm done. With this one. **

**Let's take a breath shall we?**

**And In... (hold it.) ….. …... **

**and let it out … …. …... *phew***

**Thanks guys. I needed that. :) **

**Anyway, REVIEW and tell me about your spring happenings! **

**~Jezi Raewin**


	48. Chapter's 106, 107, 108, & 109

**Do I really need to keep doing this? I mean, seriously: I don't own have/or even know how to get the rights to Maximum Ride. *rolls eyes*. Maximum Ride belongs to James Patterson.**

**ALSO: this chapter is dedicated to RIVERPEBBLE! :) **

** read on:**

Well, the 10 minutes gave me just enough time to fly to Mexico and back so I calmed down just a little bit. When I circled above mom's house in time to see Fang ushering the others inside with his eyes on the sky.

"Let's go," they – his eyes – called to me. "I can't do this without you." He looked away real quickly. I landed and we went inside and took our seat and as Angel started to read I leaned into his welcoming arms. What? Even Fang has his moments. Especially where Jeb's concerned. But more on that later.

**Chapter 106** Angel read.

"**To the trees," I told Fang, and he nodded, making a big circle to head north. It was a hazy day, but we weren't high enough to be out of sight. I hoped no one was looking up. Yeah, right.**

** We dropped down into a tall maple, breathing hard.**

** "That went well," said Fang, brushing glass dust off his shoulders. **"Like a boss," Gasser said, mimicking Fang's movements with a bit of flair, causing mom and Jeb and Ella to laugh, even causing me to snicker. Fang glared at me and I shrugged minutely.

**"It was my fault," said the Gasman. He had chocolate on his face. "I'm the one who wanted to go there."**

** "It was their fault, Gazzy," I said. "I bet those weren't even real cops. They had an eau de School air about them."**

** "You didn't think before you dumped the olive oil on the waiter, did you?" Fang asked.**

** I scowled at him.** Everyone laughed.

**"I'm still . . ." Nudge began, then let her voice trail off. I'm guessing she was about to say "hungry," but then realized it wasn't a good time.**

** But we _were_ still hungry. We _did_ have to have food. As soon as my adrenaline calmed down, I would go find a grocery store or something. **"You really need to eat," mom said worriedly.

** "People were taking pictures," Iggy said.**

** "Yeah," I said miserably. "As an unqualified disaster, this ranks right up there."**

** "_And it's getting worse," _said a smooth voice. **Mom groaned. "Oh great, just when you get to rest."

** I jumped about a foot in the air, then clutched my branch and looked down.**

** Our tree was surrounded by Erasers.**

** Without meaning to, I shot a stricken glance at Iggy: He was usually our early-warning system. If he hadn't heard the guys coming, then they'd materialized out of nowhere.**

** One Eraser stepped forward, and I caught my breath. _It was Ari. _**I took a breath to steady myself. My half-brother's death was still sad to me. Even after a couple years.

** "You keep showing up like a bad penny," I said.**

** "I was about to say the same thing to you," he replied with a feral smile.**

** "I remember back when you were three years old," I went on conversationally. "You were so cute – before you got huge and wolfy." **"You know, he was a cute little kid," Nudge said.

Gazzy looked at her, "I don't remember him at all when he was a kid. Only, well, there's a vague memory, but I can't tell."

"I'm not surprised, Gasman," Jeb said suddenly, a hint of sadness in his voice. "You were only 4 when he was with us."

"Don't," I said, finally reaching my breaking point and standing up to confront him. "Don't include _you_ in the _us._ You weren't with _us. _You were _never _with us!"

Mom broke into my mind and calmly said, "Max, honey, why don't we talk this out after lunch? Then we can get everything out in the open."

Well, there you have it. I ruined the mood. I rolled my eyes and sat back down.

** "Like you ever paid attention to me," he said, and I was surprised to hear sincere bitterness in his voice. "I was trapped in that place too, but you shut me out."**

** My mouth dropped open. "But you were normal," I blurted. "And Jeb's son."**

** "Yeah, Jeb's son," he snarled. "Like he even knows I'm alive. **Jeb's wince was felt all around the room. **What did you think happened to me while you were off playing house with _my_ father? Did you think I just disappeared?" **"If only you knew the price I had to pay," Jeb whispered so quietly I was sure no one was meant to hear it. Woops. "I'm so sorry, son."

** "Okay, there's _one_ knot unraveled," Fang muttered under his breath.**

** "Ari, I was ten years old," I said slowly. "Is all this back history why you're tracking us now? Why you're trying to _kill_ us?" **Jeb looked up, "They were never supposed to kill you."

"Then what were they doing?" I asked, overcome with annoyance remembering all the trouble those Erasers had caused when they followed us around.

"They were meant to keep tabs on you, to follow you but not cause serious harm. At least, not the orders I gave. I know what happened on the beach doesn't make this sound right, but it wasn't my order that led them there."

I just stared, and leaned further into Fang at the memory of how close he came to dying.

"Let's...um...get back to reading, okay, Angel?" Ella said quickly.

** "Of course not." Ari spit on the ground. "I'm tracking you 'cause that's my job. The back history is helping me enjoy it." He smirked.**

** I shot him the bird. **Iggy snorted. **(Get it?_ I _shot him the – never mind.) **Mom rolled her eyes.

** He was morphing, and when he smiled, his muzzle seemed to split in half, like a dog's. From behind his back he pulled something small, with brown fur and two white -**

** "Celeste!" Angel cried, and started to scramble down.**

** "_Angel, no!"_I shouted, and Fang yelled, _"Stay put!"_**

** But my baby jumped, landing lightly on the ground a few feet from Ari.** "ANGEL!" Ella said and Angel jumped. She shoved her hands in the air showing she surrendered.

"I'm okay, aren't I?" She said innocently.

** The other Erasers surged forward but Ari snapped up his hand to hold them back. They stopped, coiled tightly, their cold, wolfish eyes locked on Angel.**

** Ari shook Celeste playfully, and Angel stepped forward. **

** I dropped down to the ground, adrenaline pouring into my veins. Again the Eraser team lunged, and again Ari held them back.**

** "Touch her and I'll kill you," I promised, my hands curled into fists.**

** Ari smirked, his dark curly hair catching the last bit of afternoon sun. He shook Celeste again, and Angel quivered by my side.**

** "Give me the bear," Angel said, low and intense. **

** Ari laughed.**

** Angel took a half step forward, but I grabbed her collar.**

** "Give. Me. The. Bear." Angel sounded odd, not like herself, and she was staring intently into Ari's eyes. His smile faded, and a look of confusion crossed his face. I remembered how Angel had influenced the woman to buy Celeste for her.**

** "You're -" Ari began, then seemed to choke slightly, coughing, putting his hand to his throat. "You're -" **"You're terrifying, you know that?" Gazzy said to his sister.

She smiled, "only when I need to be."

"That's my girl," I said, earning a big grin.

** "Drop the bear _now,_" Angel said, hard as concrete.**

** Seemingly against his will, Ari's clawed, powerful hand unclenched, and Celeste fell to the ground.**

** Almost faster than my eyes could follow, Angel snatched Celeste and leaped back up into the tree.**

** I blinked and wondered if I looked as surprised as Ari did.**

** The other Erasers sprang into motion, as if it had taken the ma few seconds to realize Angel was gone. Ari's arm shot out and an Eraser crashed into it.**

** "You have your orders!" he barked at the team. "Don't ever question them!" He turned back to look at me thoughtfully. "You can't question them," he said in a normal tone, speaking directly to me. "Even if they seem stupid. Even if you'd rather just rip the flock apart."**

** An Eraser made an eager, hungry sound, and it was all I could do not to shudder.**

** Ari leaned closer to me, as f catching my scent, like prey. "Your day is coming, bird girl," he whispered. "And I'm going to finish you off myself." **"Like I would have let you have the chance," I said.

** "Don't sharpen your fangs just yet, dog boy."**

** HE opened his mouth to say something but then cocked his head and pressed a finger against his ear, as if hearing something.**

** "The Director wants to see us," he barked at his team. "Now!"**

** After one last lingering look at me, he turned and followed the other Erasers. They melted into the twilight shadows like smoke.**

"Who's the Director?" Ella asked and Nudge and I shared a glance.

"No one we need to worry about now." I said.

Jeb took the book from Angel and started to read.

**Chapter 107**

**Up in the tree, Angel was clutching Celeste tightly, murmuring softly to her.**

** "I heard them mention the Director at the School," Nudge said. "Who is it?"**

"A Tortoise of a woman," I said, causing Nudge to snicker, and Ella to just stare at us.

"You'll understand later," Nudge and Angel said at the same time.

** I shrugged. "Some big, very bad person." One of many who were after us. I wondered if it was Jeb, our fake father. Our savior and then our betrayer. **"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say _no_." Ella said and Jeb nodded his head.

"_WAY _beyond my pay grade," he said. "I didn't get to see her but on a few occasions and it wasn't until the Erasers were … being retired." He coughed out the last part.

** "You okay?" Iggy asked. I saw his white knuckled hold on his branch and gave him a gentle tap with my boot.**

** "Hunky-dory," I said. "But I want to get out of here right now." **I felt Fang readjust himself just a little as if agreeing with me.

** In the end, we settled in the top floor of a ninety-story apartment building that was being built on the Upper East Side. The first seventy or so floors had been windowed in, but up here it was just an empty shell with piles of drywall and insulation. Huge gaping holes gave us a great view of the East River and Central Park.** "_Nice_," Ella said.

** Nudge and I went to a local grocery store, then schlepped three heavy bags of groceries back to the others. It was breezy up in our aerie, but private and safe. We watched the last of the sun go down and ate. My head was aching, but not too badly.**

** "I'm tired," Angel said. "I want to go to bed."**

** "Yeah, let's try to get some sleep," I said. "It's been a long, relatively yucky day." I held out my left fist, and we all stacked up. Tapping our hands seemed so familiar, so comforting, connecting us.**

** The Gasman and I cleared construction debris away, and Iggy and Fang moved stacks of drywall to make windbreaks. In the end we had a cozy space, and the flock was asleep within ten minutes.** "Except you, right?" Ella asked.

** _Except me._**

"You hardly ever get rest easily."

** How were the Erasers tracking us so easily? I looked hard at my left wrist, as if staring at it would make my chip float to the surface of my skin. I myself could be a beacon without knowing it, without being able to do a thing about it – except leave the flock and strike out on my own. **"NO." Came from _every _corner of the room. Fang and Angel looked directly at me. "Never. Never leave the Flock, Max." Angel said, tears beginning to make her eyes sparkle.

Fangs eyes were silent and still, yet they held the promise to find me and drag my sorry butt back if I ever even _tried _to do something like that. **The Erasers were tracking us but not killing us. Why had Ari stopped them today? **

** And what in the world was happening with Angel? Her telepathic powers seemed to be growing. I groaned to myself, picturing a strong-willed Angel demanding birthday presents; junk food before dinner; stupid, trendy clothes. ** "I didn't mean to make you worry, Max," Angel said.

"It's my _job_ to worry," I told her and she shrugged.

** _Don't borrow trouble, Max, _said my Voice.**

** _Long time no hear, _I thought.**

** _Worry is unproductive. You can't control what happens to Angel. You can save the world, but the only thing you can control is you. Go to sleep, Max. It's time to learn._**

** Learn what? I started to ask, but then, as if someone had flicked a switch, I sank into unconsciousness. **Jeb passed the book to Ella who started to read immediately.

**Chapter 108**

**When I blinked awake the next morning, I was greeted by newspapers and breakfast in bed. **"Hmm," Mom said, "That's a nice greeting." I nodded stifly, and her smile shrunk.

** "Wha'?" I mumbled.**

** "We got breakfast," Fang said, taking a bite of muffin. "You were out for the count."**

** As I took my first bite of muffin, I became aware of the quivering tension around me. "What else?"** "Oh great, what happened this time?" Mom asked worriedly. I shook my head at her, _always worrying._

** Fang nodded toward the newspapers.**

** "I figured you got 'em for the comics," I said, pulling the pile closer.**

** Up to now, our main survival strategy had been to stay inconspicuous, to hide as much as possible. I guess having our pictures plastered on the front page of the _New York Post_ under the huge, screaming headline "Miracle or Illusion? Superhumans or Genetic Freaks?" blew that strategy out of the water. **"You can say that again," Ella said to herself.

** Fang had gotten four different papers, and fuzzy pictures of us swooping gaily around the Garden Tavern were on every front page. **"And some clips had already gone viral," mom said. "What? I get news flashes on my e-mail homepage!" Ella snickered.

"Meaning she goes searching for the latest news articles.

** "Saw them when we were out," Fang explained, draining his juice. "Guess we better lie low for a while."**

** "Yes, thank you, Tonto," I said irritably. I mean, would it kill him to speak in full sentences? **"Sentences full, this one cannot speak. Die he might, were he to try." Gazzy said in a perfect impression of that green puppet thing from what was it, Trek Wars? Star thing. . . I don't remember. **I checked out the _New York Times._ Under a blurry photo, it said, "No one has taken credit for what may be this year's most unusual stunt . . ." **

** Finally, I sighed and picked up my muffin again. "The upshot is, we might as well glow in the dark** "How cool would that be? I want to glow in the dark!" Gazzy said. I looked at him with a small smile.** in terms of staying inconspicuous. So it looks like it's ix-nay on the institute, at least for a while." I felt so frustrated I could have screamed.**

** "Maybe we could wear disguises," The Gasman suggested.**

** "Yeah, like glasses and funny noses," Angel agreed.**

** I smiled at them. "You think?"** "Why did I have to get the short chapter? Ella asked as she handed Mom the book. I shrugged.

**Chapter 109**

**That afternoon, we had to venture out to get food again. Six pairs of glasses with funny noses hadn't materialized,** "Awe," Ella siad, "I wanted to hear about you walking around the city with them." She 'hmphed' and Iggy laughed.** so we went as is.**

** At the nearest deli, we stocked up on sandwiches, drinks ,chips, cookies, anything we could carry and eat at the same time. **

** "So I'm thinking we should leave the city as soon as it gets dark," I said to Fang. **

** He nodded. "Where to?"**

** "Not too far," I said. "I'm still bent on getting to the bottom of the Institute, so to speak. **"And, quite ironically, it turned out to be pretty literal." Iggy said, causing Nudge to giggle. **Maybe upstate a bit? Or somewhere by the ocean?"**

** _"You!" _**This time, Ella was the one who jumped.

**I recoiled and dropped my soda as a young guy with a mohawk haircut jumped in front of us. Nudge bumped into my back, and Fang went very still. "**Beware the Mohawk guys." Gazzy said with a serious face which he only held for about 5 seconds. I think everyone was getting a little loopy. Guess it's almost lunch time. I smiled mentally.

** "You guys are perfect!" he said excitedly.**

** How nice that _someone _thought so. But who was this wing nut? **

** "Perfect for what?" Fang asked with deadly calm. **

** The guy waved a skinny tattooed arm at a storefront. Its sign said, U 'Do: Tomorrow's styles today. **Ella laughed, "I get it!"

We looked at her. "Get what?" Iggy asked.

"_WING _nut." She said. She said it again, laughing all the while.

Mom patted Ella on the head and kept reading.

** "We're having a makeover fest!" the guy explained, sounding like we had just won a million dollars. "You guys can have total makeovers for _free –_ as long as your stylist gets to do whatever he or she wants." **"Oooh," Ella said, finally sobering up. "That sounds fun." Nudge and Angel loved it, even Iggy didn't mind, so I guess, you know, it wasn't horrible.

** "Like what?" Nudge asked with interest.**

** "Makeup, hairstyle, everything!" the guy promised ecstatically. "Except tattoos. We'd need a note from your parents."**

** "So that's out," I said under my breath.**

** "I want to do it!" Nudge said. "It sounds so fun! Can we do it, Max? I want a makeover!"**

** "Uh . . ." I saw a couple teenage girls emerging from U 'Do. They looked wild. I bet their own friends wouldn't have recognized them.** "Perfect," Mom muttered under her breath.

** Hello.**

** "I'm up for it," I said briskly, as Fang's eyes widened a fraction of an inch. I gave him a meaningful look. "We'd love to be _made over_. Make us look completely different."**

"Oh, I love that part," Nudge said. "I _loved_ my stylist! Aren't we going to keep reading? We're so close, Max." I looked at my watch and held up my hand for her to stop.

"We'll read after lunch." I told her.

**AN: I hope this is helping to make up for my lack of updating. :/ I'm already (i know this had no effect with last months update. . .but whatever) working on the next one. And it should be a little easier: It's a fluffy one. :) **

Review and tell me . . . . how many days left till school's out; who your favorite Max character is; and if you think the Crows have thwarted the squirrels and are now trying to take over the world.

I hate to pull this, but okay: I need more viewers on my other story (A Story Not To Forget). It's a Maximum Ride Fanfiction, so you should all be readers of this one. As of today, 4/13/12, I've gotten NO reviews and am very saddened by this. So PLEASE I need at least 4 reviews on that story before I update this one.

**Until next time,**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	49. Of Lunchtime Gags and New Heights

**AN: Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride…James Patterson does.**

Lunch, was a nonevent. I ate my seven sandwiches on the roof with Fang because we didn't want to be in the same room as Jeb. But really, the most exciting part happened after Gazzy let one rip at the table, drawing everyone outside into the open. I mean, if I could smell it from the rooftop . . . Well, it could've been worse.

Fang and I shared a glance as everyone came stumbling outside, coughing and spluttering. Well, almost everyone was spluttering, one certain little blonde-haired boy who was laughing maniacally. We took the fleeting moment and swooped in to the open window on the second floor and grabbed Ella's emergency water balloon supply. (Don't ask, it's just something she acquired since she met Ig and Gazz.) Fang filled them up and I tied them, all the while listening for sounds of them coming in.

It took a bit of time, but soon we were back in the sky. Fang - the lucky bird he is - used his invisibility and climbed on the roof. I, however, took to the trees where I had first stumbled into my family from. After observing Nudge practically tackle Gazzy and Angel laughing like crazy, I tossed a water balloon down and it landed on an unsuspecting Iggy. The splatters went on Nudge who screamed and it was all pretty much chaos from there on out.

Fang's water balloons splashed all over Jeb, Ella, Nudge, and Angel. Mom was smart enough to run inside, though she didn't quite manage to make it out _completely_ dry. From the safety of the upstairs window she looked for me in the trees. I saw her out of the corner of my eye and tossed a balloon to the window, making her jump back a few feet inside. I gripped my branch as I ran out of balloons. Didn't really matter anyway, they were all cowering in various hiding places.

Fang flew over to my branch and we shared a high-five. Now we wait, because surely the Gasman and Ig-ster are going to get revenge sooner or later. It was such a nice day. The clouds big and poofy. The sky as blue as could be behind them. The sun keeping the air nice and toasty. In the shade of the trees there was a nice breeze that kept blowing.

As I took a deep breath, I heard Mom come out the door again, with towels in hand.

"It's so nice today! Why don't we read some outside?" She said as she handed out the towels, and Fang and I fluttered (Don't tell him I said he fluttered) down.

"Please? Oh, please can we read out here?" Nudge and Angel asked simultaneously. I sighed dramatically.

"Oh, I suppose we can do that," I smiled at them and Fang took one hand and mom placed the book in my other. I looked at Mom and Ella and grinned. "How comfortable are you with sitting in trees?"

Ella smiled and mom looked eager to try so with a little help from my bird brothers we got them both settled onto branches. Total even came out to join us, and since he did, we (rather, I) designated him the book transporter.

"At least I'm being welcomed," he murmured through his teeth after handing me the book and flying over to Angel.

"So!" I said, "Now we're in **Part 6 - Who's your Momma? Who's your Daddy?**."

"Of course, we only find out _your _father is Jeb while we're in the big NYC." Nudge sighed, draped over her branch.

**AN: **

**I know it's short, but I really struggled with this one. AND I only got ONE - just **_**one**_** - review when I asked for four. Come on guys. I had over 2k hits last month! That's over 2,000 hits! And I only got ONE review for a story of mine? And only how many for last chapter? 10? Come on, guys. You can do better than that. **

**If I get enough reviews - and ONLY if - I'll see what I can do about finishing up this story by the end of June. How's that? That's the best I can offer, I hope you can take it up. I want at least 3 WELL ROUNDED Critiques. Not just reviews saying "Love it," "Update soon," or "Can't wait for more!" **

**Now, don't get me wrong: I **_**LOVE **_**those kinds of reviews and would rather have 20 of those then 2 of the critiques, but still. And don't put off saying "Oh, who am I? Someone else will leave a good review so I won't leave one." **

**NO! Be the change I'm looking for! Please? Pretty, pretty please?**

**Okay, enough rambling, thank you for reading! **

**Until next time (hopefully soon),**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	50. Chapter's 110, 111, & 112

**AN: Who claims ownership of the Maximum Ride series? 'Not I,' said the girl with the keyboard. 'Not I,' said the kid with the bear. 'But I do!' said the guy named James P.**

**So I do not own. James Patterson does. Read on!**

**Chapter 110**I read, nestled into my tree.

"**That is so cool," Nudge said approvingly as I turned to let her see the back of my new jean jacket. **"Ooh, the results of the makeover," Ella said. **Of course, I would have to cut huge slits in it to let my wings out, but other than that, it was great.** "That's one thing that's so sad about our fashion," Nudge said, crossing her arms, then she flung them in the air. "I got it! Max I wanna be a fashion designer!" I smiled and kept reading, as she and Angel giggled.

** I looked at her and grinned. She looked so _not _Nudge, I was still startled every time I saw her. Her dark brown supercurly hair had been blow-dried perfectly straight and cut in layers.** "Wait," Ella said, "her hair was straight?" We all nodded, except for Iggy who shrugged. "I didn't think your hair _could_ be straightened . . . . no offense, Nudge."

Nudge shrugged, "none taken."

**Then they'd streaked it with blonde highlights. The difference was incredible – she'd gone from scruffy adolescent to slightly short fashion model in under an hour. I'd never noticed that she had the potential to be gorgeous when she grew up. If she grew up. **"Gee, thanks, Max," Nudge said, crossing her arms. I shrugged.

"You know my mind's never been looking for those details," I said. "I just want safety for us."

** "Check this out!" The Gasman had outfitted himself in camouflage, down to his sneakers. **Ella laughed, and Iggy chuckled.

** "Okay by me," I said, giving him a thumbs-up.**

** In this barnlike secondhand shop, we were in the process of completing our total physical transformation. Some of Gazzy's pale blond hair had been bleached white. They'd spiked it with gel and colored just the spiky tips bright blue. The sides were supershort.** "Wow!" Ella said, "I'd loved to have seen that!" Gazzy grinned.

"Yeah, it was _awesome!"_ He said.

** "I still wish you'd let me get 'Bite Me' shaved into the back of my head," he complained. **Mom laughed.

** "No," I said, straightening his collar.**

** "Iggy got _his_ ear pierced."**

** _"Nein,"_ I said.**

** "But everyone does it!" he said in a perfect imitation of his stylist.**

** "O-nay." **"Did you say _Okay!"_ Ella asked, slightly astonished, turning to stare intently at the back of the Gasman's head. Gazzy laughed and Iggy shook his head.

"O-nay," Iggy said. "O-nay is no in Pig-latin. We need to work on that with you, don't we?" He shook his head in mock disappointment.

She sighed. I read.

** He made an exasperated sound and went over by Fang, whose hair had been cut short also, except for one long chunk that flopped over in front of his eyes. It had been highlighted with several mottled tan shades and now it looked exactly like a hawk's plumage. **"I loved your hair like that," Nudge said and Angel nodded. I looked at his hair now, which had grown a little longer, but he kept it trimmed more than he used to. The tan shades were long gone. **Quelle coinky-dink. In this store, he'd exchanged his basic black ensemble for a slightly different basic black ensemble. **Everyone laughed, and Fang shrugged.

** "I like this," said Angel, holding up something froufrou. I'd already outfitted her in new cargo pants and a T-shirt, and she'd picked out a fluffy blue fleece jacket.**

** "Um," I said, looking at it.**

** "It's so pretty, Max," she coaxed. "Please?"**

** I wondered if I would be able to tell if she was putting thoughts into my head. Her eyes were wide and innocent looking.** "I'd never do that, Max," Angel said, looking hurt. "The only case would be if you were about to do something that would obviously harm you in a more than idiotic way." She finished with a bob of her head and Nudge laughed. I just shook my head.

** "And Celeste really likes it too," Angel added.**

** "The thing is, Angel," I said, "I'm not sure how _practical _tutus are – given how much we're on the run and all."**

** She looked at the tutu and frowned. "I guess."**

** "We ready?" Iggy asked with a touch of impatience. "Not that I don't adore shopping."**

** "You look like you stuck your finger in a light socket," the Gasman said.**

** Iggy's strawberry-blond hair was spiked like Gazzy's and tipped with black on the ends.**

** "Really?" Iggy asked. "Cool!" He'd gotten his ear pierced before I'd noticed: His thin gold wire loop was the only thing I'd had to pay for. **"Too bad Max didn't let you keep it in for long..." Nudge said trailing off. Iggy fingered the spot where his loop had been.

"Just think if an Eraser had pulled on it! I was just saving him from extra pain," I said with a huff. I get no respect anymore.

** We walked out into the late afternoon. I felt free and happy, even though the institute was on holiday the moment. I bet not even Jeb would recognize me.**

** My stylist had picked up my long braid and simply whacked it off. Now my hair floated in feathery layers. No more hair getting in my eyes when I flew. No spitting wisps out of my mouth in the middle of an escape. **"It's really so much better when it's short," I said and Angel nodded, stroking her own hair.

Nudge smiled, "I sense another makeover soon."

** Not only that, but they'd streaked it with chunky strands of hot pink and, despite my protest, gone to town with makeup. **"I bet you looked gorgeous," mom said and Ella had this look on her face that was somewhere between a beaming smile and astonishment. "Max had makeup on?" She whispered and Angel giggled. **So now I looked both totally different and about twenty years old. Being five-eight helped.**

** "There's a little park up here," Fang said, pointing.**

** I nodded. It would be darker than the street, and we'd have enough room to take off. **"Not going to sleep in the boughs of the trees again?"Mom asked.

I shook my head. "Trying to get out of the city."** Five minutes later, we were rising about the city, leaving the lights and noise and energy behind. It felt fabulous to stretch my wings out, stroking hard, feeling so much faster and smoother and cooler than I did on the ground.**

** Just for fun I flew in huge, banking arcs, taking deep breaths, enjoying the feel of my newly weightless hair. The stylist had called it "wind-tossed."**

** If only she knew. **Mom, Nudge, and Angel giggled and I gave the book to Fang.

**Chapter 111 **he read.

**Up this high, I could clearly see the outline of Manhattan. Right across the East River was Long Island, which was much, much bigger than New York City. We flew above its coast as the sun went down, barely able to see the curly ridges of white-capped waves breaking along the shore.**

** After an hour and a half, we saw a long stretch of black beach with few lights, which meant few people. Fang nodded at me, and we aimed downward, enjoying the heady rush of losing altitude. Roller coasters had nothing on us. **Gazzy and Iggy high-fived and laughed, "You know it!"

** "Looks good," Fang said, scoping out the beach after we landed on the soft sand. It was undeveloped, with no attached parking lots. Huge boulders sealed off both ends, so it seemed even safer. Plus, other large boulders formed a natural outcropping that created a bit of shelter maybe thirty yards inland. **"That sounds lovely!" Mom said. "A natural safe spot for you." I smiled, remembering how nice it was... for the short time we were there.

** "Home, sweet home," I said drily, taking off my new backpack.**

** I rummaged in it for food, passed out what we had, and sank down on a large chunk of driftwood. Twenty minutes later, we stacked fists, tapped, then curled up in the sand beneath the outcropping.**

** I winced slightly as the Voice drifted into my head. _Time to learn_, it said.** "Again?" El said.

** Then I was pulled into unconsciousness as if getting dragged beneath a wave. Dimly, I heard bits of foreign languages that I didn't understand, and the Voice said, _This is on a need-to-know basis, Max. You need to know. _**Fang handed the book to Total, who was resting on the branch by Fang's leg. He grumbled something under his breath that was hard to understand. Nudge took the book and scratched his head.

**Chapter 112**

**The ocean. Another new and incredible experience. **"What?" Ella asked. "We don't get to know what the Voice showed you?"

"You really don't want to know those details right now. Trust me," I said. "It's not that important right now."

"What we _do_ want to hear about, though," Iggy interjected, "is the Ocean. Read on, Nudge." **We'd grown up in lab cages until four years ago, when Jeb had stolen us. Then we'd been in hiding, avoiding new experiences at all costs.**

** Now we were doing something different everyday. It was a trip. **

** "A crab!" the Gasman yelled, pointing at the surf by his feet. Angel ran over to see, holding Celeste so her back paws barely touched the water.**

** "Cookie?" Iggy asked, holding out a bag. **"Ooh, boy," Ella said. "The Conquest for Cookies has commenced, eh, Max?"

I rolled my eyes.

"She was relentless in her endless endeavor to acquire the perfect cookie," Iggy said and Fang snorted.

** "Don't mind if I do," I said. This morning I had toned down my appearance a tad, then Nudge and I had hit the closest town. We'd stocked up on supplies at a mom-and-pop store that sold their own fresh homemade cookies.**

** My mission, and I chose to accept it, was to find chocolate-chip cookies as good as the ones I'd made with Ella and her mom. So I'd brought back a couple dozen. **"They still weren't nearly as good," I said, the craving for a decent cookie hitting me hard.

** I took a bite of cookie and chewed. "Hmmm," I said, trying not to spit crumbs. "Clear vanilla notes, too-sweet chocolate-chips, distinct flavor of brown sugar. A decent cookie, not spectacular. Still, a good-hearted cookie, not pretentious." I turned to Fang. "What say you?"**

** "It's fine."**

Everyone laughed.

** Some people just don't have what it takes to appreciate a cookie. **And they laughed harder. I crossed my arms. _They really don't have what it takes._

** "I give them a seven out of ten," I pressed on dutifully. "Though warm from the oven, they lack a certain je ne sai quoi. My mission will continue." ** Mom laughed.

"Has it ever come to a completion?" Ella asked and each of the flock members shook their head. I smiled.

"I've ceased the search for a while. But only because nothing's finer than Mom's. And we're here. So. Yup."

** Iggy laughed and rummaged in a bag for an apple.**

** Nudge ran up, her clothes wet past her knees. "This place is so cool," she said. "I love the ocean! I want to be a scientist who studies the ocean when I grow up. I would go out to sea, and scuba dive, and find new things, and _National Geographic_ will hire me!" **"Haven't we already done the scuba diving thing?" Iggy asked. Nudge huffed, "But _I _want to go!"

** Sure, Nudge. Probably around the same time I become president.** "Don't be so nasty, Max," Ella said.

"Besides, we already know your incorruptible by power," Angel said, starting to snicker. "You could do a lot of good for America." Mom smiled approvingly and Jeb shrugged. I groaned.

"Nudge, please, keep reading," I begged before she could jump in with her lengthy opinion.

** Nudge ran back to the water, and Iggy got up and ambled after her**

** "They're happy here," Fang said, looking at them. **

** I nodded. "What's not to like? Fresh air, peace and quiet, the ocean. Too bad we can't stay here."**

** Fang was quiet for a moment. "What if we were safe here?" he asked. "Like, we just knew no one would come hassle us. Would you want to stay?"** "Who wouldn't," Ella said.

** I was surprised. "We have to find the Institute," I said. "And if we find out anything, the others will want to track down their parents. And then, do we find Jeb and confront him? And who's the Director? Why did they do this to us? Why do they keep telling me I'm supposed to save the world?"** "Beca-" Jeb started, but I interrupted.

"Just don't. Not right now," I said.

** Fang held up his hand, and I realized my voice had been rising.**

** "What if," Fang said slowly, not looking at me, "what if we just forgot about all that?" **"And just found your little island?" I asked him quietly.

He smirked.

** My jaw dropped open. You live with someone your whole life, you think you know them, and then they go and drop a bomb like this. "What are you-" I started to say, but then the Gasman ran up with a live hermit crab, which he plopped in my lap, and then Angel wanted lunch. I didn't have a chance to grab Fang's shoulders and yell, "Who are you and what have you done with the real Fang?" **"You weren't swapped were you, Fang?" Nudge asked in all seriousness.

Ella blinked as Fang shook his head. "What do you mean 'swapped'?"

"Like Max, was," she said, and I held up my hand, motioned toward the book.

"Let Nudge finish the chapter, then I'll tell you what happened," I said as Ella tried to close her mouth.

** Maybe later.**

"Nudge, seriously," Iggy said. "What's the rest?"

"That's it! I swear!" she said. "'Maybe later.'"

Mom rolled her eyes. Then looked at me. "So what's the deal with this whole 'getting swapped' thing?"

"So when we were in Florida, after we discovered them, Itex decided to kidnap me and put in my clone. Anyway, it worked out in the end, right?"

**AN: Shanks fur reedin, peepers. **

**0_o where'd that come from? **

**Seriously though, thanks! :) Anyway... leave a review please. Tell me what you want more of what you want less of. Happy summer guys!**

**~Jezi**


	51. Chapter's 113, 114, & 115

**Disclaimer: I no own Max Ride. James Patterson owns.**

Total gave Gazzy the book and he promptly started to read.

**Chapter 113**

**The next morning, Fang came back from town and placed the _New York Post_ at my feet with a little bow. **I snickered and Ella laughed. **I flipped through the paper. On page six, I saw "Mysterious Bird Children Nowhere to Be Found." **"Laying low's working pretty well," mom said with a smile.

"Well done," Jeb said.

** "Well, good for us," I said. "We've gone two days without causing a huge commotion in a public place and getting our pictures splashed all over the news."**

** "We're going swimming!" Nudge said, tapping Iggy's hand twice. He got up and followed her, Angel, and Gazzy down to the water. **"Can we go to the beach soon, Max? Please?" Angel and Nudge asked in unison. I rolled my eyes.

"Look, guys, we're not going to repeat every little vacation we've had in the past okay? We'll do what we can." I told them. They nodded. Gazzy kept reading.

** The sun was shining, and though the ocean was still pretty cold, it didn't bother them. I was glad they were having this little vacation, where they could just have fun and eat and swim without stressing out about everything. **"_You _were still stressing though," Ella said. I stuck my tongue out at her.

** _I _was still stressing, of course. **"_of course,_" Iggy said. He stuck his tongue out at me and I threw an acorn at him.

** Next to me, Fang read the paper, absently working his way through a can of peanuts. I watched the younger kids playing in the water. Iggy started a sand castle, built by touch, just out of reach of the waves. **"Not my proudest masterpiece," he said with a grimace.

** How come the Erasers hadn't found us yet? Sometimes they tracked us so easily, and other times, like now, we seemed to be truly hidden. Did I have a homing signal in my implanted chip or not? **"Nope," I said.** If I did, why weren't the Erasers here by now? It was like they were just toying with us, keeping us on our toes, like a game. . . .**

** Like a game. Like a freaking _game_. **"So you just toy with them and play them like a game, make them move about the country on your whim?" Mom asked, starting to realize one of the reasons why I didn't like having Jeb around. He held his hands up in surrender.

"I wasn't in control of that," He said simply. "I just made sure they were slaughtered by the Erasers. I kept them at bay and occasionally gave Max a little shove in the right direction."

I shook my head, "Let's not have this debate right now. I just want to make it to the end of this book."

** Just like Jeb had said back at the school. Just like the Voice kept telling me, that everything was a _game, _that you learn through playing, that everything, every single thing was a test.**

** I felt like a neon sign had just lit up right in front of my face. For the first time, I finally, _finally_ understood that this all might _be_ a huge twisted, sick, important game.** Jeb beamed at me. It hurt to sit under his gaze.

** And I had been cast as a major player.**

** I sifted coarse sand through my fingers, thinking hard. Okay. If this was a game, were there only two sides?**

** I opened my mouth to blurt my thoughts to Fang but stopped. He glanced at me, his dark eyes curious, and suddenly I felt a cold dread. I dropped my gaze, feeling my cheeks heat.**

** What if we _weren't _all on the same team?** "Now that's a stupid thing to think," Iggy said defiantly.

** Part of me felt ashamed for even having that thought, and part of me remembered how many times my adorable paranoia had saved our butts. **"Really?" Nudge said, a little hurt showing through her cheery voice. "Max... how could you..." She lowered the book and every one of them turned to look at me with hurt and pain on their faces. I couldn't stand it.

"Hey, now," I said softly. "You all know that I don't think that way... right? Come on, guys. I love you, you're my family. Nudge, I'm sure if you finish the chapter, you'll see I came to my senses." With a small smile I motioned for her keep reading, and thankfully, she picked up the book again.

** I glanced out at the water, where Angel was splashing the Gasman and laughing. She dove beneath the surface, and Gazzy started chasing her.**

** Had Angel been different since we'd gotten her back from the School? I groaned and dropped my head into my hands. It was all too much. If I couldn't trust these five people, then my life wasn't worth living. **"That sounds more like you," Fang muttered and I smiled as the five people grinned.

** "Your head hurt?" Fang asked with quiet alertness.**

** Sighing, I shook my head no, then looked back at the ocean. I depended on Fang. I needed him. I _had_ to be able to trust him.**

** Did I? **_Obviously,_ I heard echoed in my head. Both my thought _and_ Angel's forced thought.

** Gazzy was staring at the surface of the water, turning this way and that, seeming confused. Then he looked up at me, panic on his face. **"What _now?_" Ella asked, anxiety clear in her voice.

** _Angel hadn't come back up. She was still underwater._**

** I started running. **"Well, obviously, you didn't drown..." Ella said. "But that doesn't rule out being kidnapped or drifting out to sea or being sucked down to the depths for Max to come and save you."

I rolled my eyes as Gazzy received the book from Total.

**Chapter 114**

"**Angel!" I yelled, plunging into the water. I reached Gazzy and grabbed his shoulder. "Where did she go down?"**

** "Right here!" he said. "She dove that way! I saw her go under." **

** Fang splashed in behind me, and Nudge and Iggy made their way over. The five of us peered into the cold gray blue water, able to see only a few inches down. A wave broke over us.**

** "This would be an excellent time for one of us to develop X-ray vision," I muttered, a cold hand closing around my heart. **"Do any of you have X-ray vision?" Ella asked and Jeb leaned forward, curious – probably to see if some information slipped through his fingers. I shook my head.

**I felt the strong tug of an underwater current pulling at my legs, saw how the wind was rippling the water out to sea. **

** "Angel!" Nudge yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth.**

** "Angel!" I shouted, wading through the water, taking big strides, praying I would brush against her.**

** Fang was sweeping his arms through the water, his face close to the surface. We fanned out, squinting from the sun's glare, taking turns diving into the surf.**

** My throat closed, and I felt like I would choke. My voice was a strangled rasp; my eyes stung from the glare and the salt.**

** We had covered a big circle, maybe thirty yards out, and still there was no sign of her. _My Angel._ I glanced back at the shore, as if I would see her walking out onto the sand toward Celeste, who waited for her by a piece of driftwood.** "I'm so sorry, Max," Angel said, sounding small. _I didn't mean to make you feel like that,_ she thought into me. I smiled and nodded my forgiveness.

** Endless minutes ticked by.**

** I could feel the undertow pulling at my whole body. I couldn't stop picturing Angel's body being pulled out to sea, her eyes wide with terror. Had we come so far only to lose her now?**

** "Do you see _anything ?"_ I cried to Fang.**

** He shook his head, keeping his eyes on the water, sweeping his arms back and forth.**

** Once again, we swept the whole area, taking in every detail of the water, the beach, the open sea.**

** And did it again.**

** And again.**

** I saw _something_ and blinked, then looked harder.**

** What was – was it – oh, God! Hundreds of yards away, a small, wet cornrowed head popped out of the water. I stared. Angel stood up in waist-high water and waved at us.**

** My knees almost buckled. I had to catch myself before I did a face-plant in the water.**

** Angel and I surged toward each other, the others catching up.**

**_ "Angel,_" I could barely whisper, unbelieving, when I was finally close enough. "Angel, where were you?"**

** "Guess what?" she said happily. "I can breath under water!"** "Wait, you can actually do that?" Ella asked, extremely curious. "I thought you were just saying that..." Angel and I laughed.

"No," I said quickly sobering up. "That little trick of hers is definitely real. And caused me a buttload of trouble when we were searching for mom. _But," _I added almost reluctantly, "it did help save us in the end." I smiled at her and she beamed back as she started to read the next chapter.

**Chapter 115**

**I grabbed Angel into my arms, hugging her wet, chilly body against me. "Angel," I murmured, trying not to cry, "I thought you had drowned! What were you doing?"**

** She wriggled closer, and I steered her to shore. We collapsed on the wet sand, and I saw the Gasman fighting back tears too.**

** "I was just swimming," Angel said, " and I accidentally swallowed some water and started to choke. But I didn't want Gazzy to find me. We were playing hide-and-seek," she explained. "Under water. So I just stayed under, and then I realized that I could sort of swallow water and stay under and not choke."**

** "What do you mean, swallow water?" I asked.**

** "I just swallow it and then go like this." Angel blew air out of her nose, and I almost laughed at the face she made.**

** "It comes out your nose?" Fang asked.**

** "No," Angel said. "I don't know where the water goes. But air comes out my nose."**

** I looked at Fang. "She's extracting oxygen from the water."**

** "Can you show us?" Fang asked.**

** Angel got up and trotted to the shore. She plunged in when the water was waist high. I was inches away from her, determined she wasn't going to get lost again, even for a second.**

** She knelt down, took a big mouthful of water, and stood up. She seemed to swallow it, then blew air out of her nose. My eyes bulged until I thought they'd just fall out: Rivulets of seawater were seeping out of invisible pores on each side of Angel's neck.**

** "Holy moly," the Gasman breathed.**

** Nudge explained to Iggy what was happening, and he whistled, impressed.**

** "And I can do it and stay under and just keep swimming," Angel said. She wiggled her shoulders, unfolding her wings so they could dry in the bright sunlight.**

** "I bet I can do it too!" the Gamsan said. "'Cause we're siblings." **"Reason numero uno why I will not be taking us back to this particular beach," I said.

** He dropped down into the water and scooped up a big mouthful. Then he swallowed it, trying to blow out air.**

** He gagged, then choked and started coughing violently. Seawater streamed out his nose, and he gagged again and almost barfed.**

** "You okay?" I asked when he had finally shuddered to a halt.**

** He nodded, looking wet, miserable, nauseated.**

** "Iggy," I said, "touch Angel's neck and see if you can feel any thing, those pores that water comes through."**

** Like a feather, Iggy skimmed his fingertips over her fair skin, all around her neck. "I can't feel a thing," he said, which surprised me.**

** So we all had to try it, just in case. No one except Angel could do it. I'll spare you the revolting details, but let me just say that's one stretch of ocean you won't catch me swimming in for a while. **Everyone laughed – the flock at the memories, mom, Ella, and Jeb at their imagination.

** So Angel could breathe under water. Our abilities kept unfolding, as if certain things had been programmed to come out at different times, like when we reached certain ages. In a way it felt like being kinged in checkers – all of a sudden you had more strength, more power than you had before. **"It's crazy," Ella said, looking at all of us. "I don't think I'll ever get completely used to it."

** How weird.**

** _Not weird, Max,_ my Voice suddenly chimed in. _Divine. And brilliant. You six are works of art. Enjoy it._**

**_ Well, _I would, I thought bitterly, _if I wasn't so busy _running for my life_ all the time. _Jeez. Works of art or freaks? Glass half empty, glass half full. Like I wouldn't give up my wings in a second to have a regular life with regular parents and regular friends. **"I never thought you would think that way, Max," Nudge said in awe, probably remembering the time she wanted to cut off her wings so she could stay at school. I nodded my head slowly.

** A tinkling laugh sounded in my head. _Come on, Max,_ said the Voice. _You and I both know that isn't true. A regular family and a regular life would bore you to tears._**

** "Who asked you?" I said angrily.**

** "Asked me what?" said Nudge, looking up in surprise.**

** "Nothing," I muttered. And there you have it. Some people get cool abilities like reading minds and breathing under water, and some people get annoying voices locked inside their head.**"Awe, poor Max," Gazzy said joining in the laughter.

** Lucky me.**

** _What do you wish you could do, Max?_ Asked the Voice. _If you could do anything?_**

**Hmm. I hadn't thought about it. I mean, I could already fly. Maybe I would want to be able to read minds, like Angel. But then I would know what everyone thought, like if someone really didn't like me but acted like they did. **Angel's voice was a little harder there. As she finished she huffed. _Tell me about it,_ she thought in my head. **But if I could do anything?**

** _Maybe you would want to be able to save the world, _the Voice said. _Did you ever think of that?_**

**_ No. _I frowned. _Leave that to the grown-ups._** "You know, you practically _are_ a grown-up now," Ella said. I shook my head and held up a hand. "Don't tell me that," I said.

**_ But grown-ups are destroying the world,_ the Voice said. _Think about it. _**"Oooh, the painful truth," Iggy said as Total flew the book to Ella.

**AN: Hey guys! Happy birthday, America! ^_^ granted, I'm a day late... but whatever. :P **

**Thanks for reading! I'm loving the reviews that I've been getting so send some more my way and I'll see about getting the next chapter up soon, okay? :)**

**Until next time,**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	52. Chapter 116 (Fang's Fight)

**I no own Max. D:**

Not much of a flight, but Total nevertheless flew the book to Ella and she promptly started to read.

**Chapter 116**

"**Look who's come to the seashore." **Ella and mom groaned. It really was pretty much a recurring theme in my life of one thing after another and having enemies show up at the 'worst moment' and us kicking butt and flying away safely. In fact… looking back it was kind of repetitive.

I laughed and Fang looked at me like I was crazy.

"I'll explain later," I mouthed and he shrugged but eyed me all the same.

** The low voice, smooth and full of menace, woke me from sleep that night. My body tightened like a longbow and I tried to jump up, only to be held down by a big booted foot on my throat.**

** Ari. Always Ari. **I laughed again, trying to keep it light, but it was a little forced. My late brother was still a slightly touchy subject for me. Jeb's eyes hardened.

** In the next second, Fang and Iggy woke, and I snapped out my free hand to wake Nudge.**

** Adrenaline dumped into my veins, knotting my muscles. Angel woke and seemed to take off straight into the air with no running start. She clutched Celeste tightly, hovering about twenty feet above us. I saw her look around, saw her take on an expression that had disaster written all over it. **"Well nothing screams danger like a six year-old hovering twenty-feet off the ground…" Iggy said, causing us all to laugh.

** I looked around too.**

** And gasped despite myself.**

** We were surrounded by Erasers, more Erasers than I'd ever seen before. Literally hundreds and hundreds of them. They'd been growing these things in quantities I could hardly imagine. **Jeb nodded gravely.

** Ari leaned down and whispered, "You're so pretty when you're sleeping – and your mouth is shut. But what a shame to cut your hair." **"Nobody asked you," Ella muttered briefly.

** "When I want your opinion, I'll ask for it," I spat, struggling against his boot.**

** He laughed, then reached down and stroked my face with one claw. "I like 'em feisty."** "And, that's creepy," she said, her voice louder this time. I nodded my head in agreement, I never quite understood his weird fascination with me.

** "Get off her!" Fang launched himself at Ari, taking him by surprise. Ari outweighed Fang by a hundred pounds, easy, but Fang was coldly furious and out for blood. He was scary when he was like that. **I grinned at him, and Iggy shuddered. Ella touched his shoulder and he said simply "Never get on Fang's bad side." Everyone but Iggy laughed.

** Iggy and I leaped up to help and were instantly grabbed by Erasers.**

** "Nudge and Gazzy – U and A," I yelled. "Now!"**

** Obeying without question, the two of them leaped into the air and flapped hard, rising to hover next to Angel. Erasers snapped at their legs, but they'd been quick and were out of reach. I was so proud, especially when Nudge snarled down meanly. **"That's my girl," I said, throwing a grin her way and received a beaming smile in return.

** I struggled, but three Erasers held me in a tight, foul embrace. "Fang!" I screamed, but he was beyond hearing, locked in battle with Ari, who raked his claws across Fang's face, leaving parallel lines of red. **"Oh yeah," I said, my smile not as wide. "Kitty Cat Fang." Fang glared at me and a laughed lightly.

** The six of us are superhumanly strong, but even we don't have the sheer muscle mass of a full-grown Eraser. Fang was badly outmatched but managed to chop Ari's collarbone.**

** Ari yelped and bared his teeth, then pulled back and swung hard, catching Fang upside of his head. I saw his head snap sideways and his eyes close, then he dropped like a dead weight onto the sand. **"Fang!" Mom said quietly, clearly lost in the book. I shook my head, but still shivered at the sight of it. "We thought you were …" Nudge started out, but couldn't finish it. He'd been closer to death, and we all (well, not mom and Ella) knew it. Angel shivered, but smiled at me.

** Ari seized Fang's head and brought it down hard on a rock. And then he did it again. **I felt Fang's arms wrap around me, pulling me closer to him, and welcomed them. It was rough hearing this all again. Sue me.

** "Leave him **_**alone! **_**Stop it! Please stop it!" I screamed, a mist of fury swimming before my eyes. I struggled against the Erasers holding me and managed to stomp on one's instep. He yelped a curse and corkscrewed my arm until tears rolled down my cheeks.**

** Fang's eyes opened weakly. Seeing Ari over him, he grabbed sand and threw it into Ari's face. Fang scrambled to his feet and launched a roundhouse kick at Ari that caught him square in the chest. Ari staggered back, wheezing, then recoiled fast and cracked Fang with an elbow. Blood sprayed from Fang's mouth, and again he went down.**

** I was crying by now but couldn't speak: An Eraser's rough, hairy paw was clapped over my mouth.**

** Then Ari bent over Fang's body, his muzzle open, canines sharp and ready to tear Fang's throat. "Had enough," he growled viciously, "of life?" **"No," Iggy said. "The prince has not had enough." I laughed shakily again. Iggy smiled. Fang's arms tightened around me.

** Oh, God, oh, God, not Fang, not Fang, not Fang – **"A little worried, weren't you, Max?" Mom asked me with an eyebrow raised, noticing our position on our bough. The girls snickered. Then, like the mature birdgirl I was, I stuck my tongue out at them. I could practically feel Fang smiling.

** "Ari!"**

** My eyes went wide. I knew that voice too well.**

** Jeb. My adopted father. Now my worst enemy.** Jeb winced, but I didn't take the time to feel bad for what I said. I may not 'detest' him as I once had, but I still don't 'like' him.

"That's the end of the chapter," Ella said, holding the book out to Total who flew it to mom who accepted it and rubbed Total's back between his wings.

**AN: Wow. It's October? -_- guys. I'm so sorry. But to my faithful readers: take heart! For the end is nigh! I HAVE NOT GIVEN UP so please don't you give up either, for what is a writer without her readers? **

**I'll have the next set up soon, I promise. I'm sorry there's only one chapter, but hey, it's the first beach scene, so that has to count, right?**

**Please leave me a review, okay? I love getting them. **

**Until MUCH MUCH sooner,**

**Jezi Raewin. : )**


	53. Chapter's 117 & 118 (with bonus!)

**I do not own Maximum Ride. **

Mom read quickly, eager to hear about Jeb's sudden reappearance in our lives.

**Chapter 117**

**I stared with the fiercest, most righteous anger and hatred as Jeb Batchelder easily moved through the crowd of Erasers, paring them as if he were Moses and they were the Red Sea. It was still bizarre to see him – I'd been so used to mourning, not despising, him.**

** Ari paused, his rank and deadly mouth open over Fang's neck. Fang was unconscious but still breathing.**

** "Ari!" Jeb said again. "You have your orders." **"Which were what, exactly?" I asked suddenly, aware of his eyes hardening in pain.

"To harm, not kill," He said, his voice a tense whisper.

I bit my tongue (tres mature, no?)

** Jeb walked toward me, keeping one eye on Ari. After endless seconds, Ari slowly, slowly drew back from Fang, leaving his body crumpled unnaturally on the sand.**

** Jeb stopped in front of me. **

** He'd saved my life more than once. He'd saved all our lives. Taught me to read, how to make scrambled eggs **"That you still burn…" Iggy said, laughing.

"That's why you're in charge of meals, Ig," I said with a smirk.

**How to hotwire cars. Once I'd depended on him as if he were the very breath in my lungs: He was my one constant, my one certainty.**

** "Do you get it now, Max?" he asked softly. "Do you see the incredible beauty of the game? No child, no adult, no one has ever experienced anything like what you're feeling. Do you see why all this is necessary?"**

** The Eraser holding me peeled his finger away from my mouth so I could speak. Instantly, I spit hard, clearing my mouth and throat of tears. I hit Jeb's shoe.**

** "No," I said, keeping my voice steady, though everything in me was shrieking, desperate to run to Fang.** "Is this where your feelings started?" Ella said with a snicker.

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response," I said causing Mom and the girls to laugh.

"**I don't get it. I'll never get it. I want to get **_**out**_** of it."**

** His heartbreakingly familiar face looked strained, as if he was losing patience with me. Tough. "I told you, you're going to save the world," he said. "That's the purpose of your existence. Do you think an ordinary, untrained fourteen-year-old could do that? No. You've got to be the best, the strongest, the smartest. You've got to be the ultimate. **_**Maximum."**_

** I yawned and rolled my eyes, knowing he'd hate that, and Jeb's jaw tightened in anger. "Do not fail," he said, a hard note in his voice. "You did okay in New York, but you made serious, rather stupid mistakes. Mistakes cost you. Make better decisions."**

** "You're not my dad anymore, Jeb," I said, putting as much annoying snideness into my tone as possible. "You're not responsible for me. I do what I like. I named myself – Maximum Ride."**

** "I'll **_**always**_** be responsible for you," he snapped. "If you think you're actually running your own life, then maybe you're not as bright as I thought you were."**

** "Make up your mind," I snapped back. "Either I'm the greatest or I'm not. Which is it?"** "Seriously," Nudge said. "'Cause you're being a little moodswingish right now and it's slightly confusing as to what you want to s-" Gazzy leapt across the tree limbs (reminding me of a squirrel) and slapped his hand over Nudge's mouth, almost toppling the pair of them both out of the tree. We laughed for a moment before mom returned to the reading.

** He motioned with his hand, and the Erasers let me and Iggy go. Ari turned and smirked at me, then blew me a kiss.**

** I spit at him. "Daddy always loved me best!" I hissed, and his face darkened.**

** He took a fast step toward me, paws coiled into fists, but was pushed along by a rough, hairy wave of Erasers. They swept him up and shuffled off around the large boulder at the end of our beach. Jeb was with them. No, he was **_**one**_** of them. **Jeb received the book from mom and, as he started to read, I had a brief flash of a memory of what happens next. I blanched in horror. Fang felt me stiffen and I could only guess that he could remember what happened next as well as his arms froze in place.

"If I can guess at all about what's in this chapter, it's gotta be some Fax," Ella said with a giggle, that intensified rather than diminished as Fang and I glared at her.

**Chapter 118**

**Stumbling badly, my shoulder feeling like it was on fire, I made my way down the beach. Before I moved Fang, I felt his neck to see if it was broken. Then I carefully turned him over. Blood trickled from his mouth.**

** "Fang, you have to wake up," I whispered. **

** The others ran over. "He looks really bad," Gazzy said. "He should see a doctor."**

** Nothing seemed broken – maybe his nose – but he was still out cold. I lifted his head into my lap and used my sweatshirt to dab at the bloody stripes on his face. **"Well done, Max," Mom said, smiling proudly at my minimal first-aid skills. Smiled lightly back at her.

** "We could carry him, you and me," said Iggy, his long pale hands floating over Fang, cataloging bruises, lumps, blood.**

** "Where to?" I asked, hearing my bitterness. "It's not like we can check him into a hospital." **"Not yet, at least," Iggy said and the flock gave a collective shudder at the memories. Nudge sighed, and I could hear the half-regrets in there. Her wishing we hadn't left, yet knowing we had to because Anne turned out to be not worth our time at all. We'd gotten comfortable, but that was ages ahead… in the books I mean.

"Huh?" Ella asked, grabbing Iggy's hand. "I don't understand…"

He shook his head.

**"No hospi'l," Fang mumbled, his eyes still shut.**

** Relief flooded through me.**

** "Fang!" I said. "How bad?"**

** "Pre'y bad," he said fuzzily, then, groaning, he tried to shift to one side.**

** "Don't move!" I told him, but he turned his head and spit blood out onto the sand. He raised his hand and spit something into it, then opened his eyes blearily.**

** "Tooth," he said in disgust. "Feel like crap," Fang added, touching the knots on the back of his head. **

** I tried to smile. "You look like a kitty cat." I made whisker motions on my face, indicating where Ari had raked his. He looked at me sourly. **I snickered briefly then was silenced by memories.

** "Fang," I said, my voice breaking. "Just live, okay? Live and be okay."**

** With no warning, I leaned down and kissed his mouth, just like that.** "Wait," Ella said, blinking fast. "That's it? That was your first kiss? No details! No nothing!" She cried.

"Just wait till you hear his reaction," Nudge said with a resigned sigh.

** "Ow," he said, touching his split lip, then he and I stared at each other in shock. **"Wow," Ella said, "I didn't think I could be disappointed by a Fax kiss, but darn guys! Come on." I sighed and Fang rubbed my arm. I looked into his eyes and he kissed me.

"That's more like it!" I heard Ella say as Jeb cleared his throat and Mom let out a little giggle. I leaned into Fang's chest and noticed my flock's exasperated expressions. Jeb however looked a little mortified at having to read his daughter's first kiss. I smirked.

** Mortification heated my face. I glanced up to see Nudge and the Gasman gaping at me. Luckily, Iggy was blind, and Angel was getting Fang water. **"That was so annoying," Iggy said with a huff.

"Sorry we weren't in the Arctic when it happened Ig," I said and the flock laughed. Mom, and Jeb, were slightly confused, but Ella was in the loop. She rubbed his hand as she laughed with the rest of us.

** Gazzy looked from me to Fang to Iggy, clearly thinking that he was sunk now that I had obviously severed all ties with reality.**

** Slowly, Fang levered himself into a sitting position, his jaw tight, sweat breaking out on his face. "Man," he said, and coughed. "This feels pretty bad."**

** It was about the most he'd ever admitted to, painwise. He stood clumsily and took the water from Angel. Taking a swig, he rinsed his mouth and spit it out onto the sand. **"Gross," Ella said.

** "I'm going to kill Ari," Fang said. **Jeb handed the book to Total and patted his head.

"We should do this more often," Total muttered. "At least I get attention when I pass the book."

I smiled at him and rubbed behind his ear as I took the book from him and started to read…

**Chapter 119**.

Well, guys, 2 uploads in one day? I hope I can slowly win back your trust.

I have a special treat for you: A little request was made to me in one review and that was that I write _the kiss_ from Fang's perspective. Now, I know it was short in Max's, but Fang's a little more perceptive, sometimes, and he's got more in his thoughts than just "ow." So let's find out what those were, shall we?

FANG'S pov:

Ugh, what…just…happened? I thought to myself. I couldn't move, couldn't open my eyes. I was trapped with my thoughts and right then the main thought that was going through my mind was _ouch._

My head pounded in four different places, not including the strips of fire or my face. My lip was split, I was sure, and I thought I felt a tooth that had gotten knocked loose.

"We could carry him, you and me," I heard a voice, Iggy's, make a way through the fogginess in my head.

"To where?" My Max said, her voice tight with worry and bitterness pulling me back toward her. "It's not like we can check him into a hospital."

Hospital? I'm not about to let my family blow our secret by taking me to a hospital.

"No hosp'l," I mumbled. Ugh. I mumbled? What am I 5? Actually, I think I could talk better than that when I was 5.

"Fang! How bad?" My Max called, relief flooding her words. I took a second to just let that sink in, her words, her worry for me.

"Pre'y bad," I muttered, trying to sit up and spit out the blood from my mouth so I could speak right. I felt slightly dizzy.

"Fang! Don't move!" She tried to tell me. Like I would listen to her. She may be the leader, but she knows she can't _really_ tell me what to do.

I spit on the sand and felt the inside of my mouth with my tongue. I was right.

"Tooth," I said as I spit it out. "Feel like crap." I felt my head, finding the bumps from Ari's pounding. Max gave me a weak smile.

"You look like a kitty cat," she said, making whiskers on her face. Her eyes, though filled mostly with relief, were still flooded with worry. I glared at her. "Fang," She said, her melodic voice breaking a little. "Just be live, okay? Live and be okay." Then with no warning, she kissed me.

It didn't last long, but it made my throbbing lips ignite with some form of electricity. I wanted to say something profound, but all that came out was "ow." I'd meant to saw _wow_. That would've summed it up better than _ow._ Her lips, so soft on mine, opened to form a little 'o' in shock as she registered what she had done.

I stared back, equally shocked, and for a second, I was glad that Iggy was blind; he never would've let me live that down if he'd seen our kiss. I mentally smiled. I pulled myself into a sitting position and the small movement had my head throbbing beyond belief.

"Man, this feels pretty bad," I said, coughing a little. Angel walked up to me and I stood to take the water from her. I rinsed my mouth, stood a little taller and said, "I'm going to kill Ari."

**REVIEW and tell me what you thought of the Chapter AND of my version of **_**the kiss**_ **from Fang's perspective. ^_^**

**Thank you!**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	54. Chapter's 119 & 120

Disclaimer: I hereby acknowledge that I have no right to the Maximum Ride series. James Patterson (unless he decides to turn the series over now that he's finished the whole thing …) owns it.

**Chapter 119 **

**Fang and the rest of us made it back to Manhattan without dropping out of the sky due to injury, exhaustion, or both.** "Thank gods," Ella said with a sigh of relief.

** "You macho thing, you," I said **Ella and Mom laughed. **When we finally landed in the darkness of Central Park. He looked worn out, clammy, and pale, but he had flown all the way with no complaint.**

** "That's me," he said, but he gave me a long look, like I haven't forgotten what you did, meaning **_**the Kiss. **_Everyone laughed. I blushed.

** I blushed furiously, embarrassed beyond belief. I would never live that down.**

** "Are you really okay, Fang?" Nudge asked, the most touching concern in her voice. Nudge doted on Fang. **"Aw, sweet," Ella said, smiling at Nudge and this time it was her turn to blush. Nudge and Fang have always had a sweet Big Brother, Little Sister relationship. ***(See AN below)***

** He looked like he'd fallen off a cliff, with huge bruises distorting his face, the awful scratches Ari had left on his cheeks, the stiff, pained way he moved. **

** "I'm cool," he said. "Flying helped loosen me up some." **"Liar," I said with a smile. "Flying loosens up to an extent, but with your wounds, you should've hurt worse." Fang glared at me and I stuck out my tongue.

** "Look, let's find a place to hunker down, catch some Zs and then take another shot at the Institute," I said. "We've got to figure it out – we can't stop now. Right, guys?" **

** "Yeah, right," Nudge said. "Let's do it, get it over with. I want to know about my mom. And other stuff. I want to know the whole story, good or bad."**

** "Me too," said Gazzy. "I want to find my parents so I can tell'm what total scuzzes they are. Like, **_**'Hi, Mom and Dad, you're such scum!'**_**" **Gazzy and Angel sighed and I shot them both warm smiles. "Don't think about it, guys," I said. "Doesn't matter, anyway." Angel beamed at me and Gasman shot me a grateful look.

** I decided we'd better stay underground for safety's sake.** "Back to your subway ledge?" Ella asked and I grimaced.** In the subway station, we jumped off the platform and walked quickly along the tracks. It looked familiar, and sure enough, a few minutes' walking brought us to a huge firelit cavern populated by homeless people and misfits. Home, sweet home, especially if you happen to be a sewer rat. **"There actually weren't that many rat's in that area," Angel said thoughtfully. Nudge nodded along.

"Yeah, they came later, when we were almost at the institute," She said. I shivered delicately and kept reading.

** "Boy, does this look inviting," Fang said, rubbing his hands together.**

** I made a face at him as we climbed up onto the concrete ledged. Inside, I was glad that he had enough energy to be sarcastic. **Fang smiled at me and snickered quietly.

** Suddenly exhausted and emotionally wiped, I held out my left fist to make our bedtime stack. We did our thing, then Angel snuggled next to me. I checked to make sure the others, especially Fang, were okay, then I lay down, letting despair cover me like a blanket.**

** I was in the middle of another sleep-driven brain explosion when I felt myself surface to consciousness without opening my eyes. Not analyzing the impulse, I shot out my hand and grabbed **_**someone's wrist. **_"You just can't catch a stinking break!" Ella said suddenly, throwing her arms in the air and _almost_ losing her balance on her limb. If Iggy hadn't of caught her arm, she would've tumbled backward. I laughed.

"El," I said, "calm down, it's okay, it's nothing harmful here." She looked into my eyes and trusted me.

** Moving fast, still on instinct, I sat up and twisted the intruder's arm behind his back, my senses roaring to life. **

** "Cool it, sucker!" the arm's owner whispered furiously. I yanked upward, threatening to pop his arm out of its socket. I definitely could've done it. **"Do you guys remember this? Nudge? Angel? Gazzy? Iggy?"

"I was out cold, sleeping. I passed out the moment I hit the concrete." Nudge.

"I fell asleep as soon as I curled up by Max. I wasn't awake for this." Angel.

"Gasman and I were asleep." Two Iggys said in unison. I shook my head.

** Fang creaked upright next to me, his eyes alert, but his body moving stiffly.**

** "You're screwing with my Mac again," said the hacker, **"OH! It's _him!_" Ella said and laughed. **and I loosened my hold him. "Jeez, what happened to **_**you?**_**" Directed at Fang.**

** "Cut myself shaving," Fang said. **"I'm sure that was convincing," Iggy said and mom and Ella laughed with Nudge and Angel.

** The hacker frowned and rubbed his shoulder where I'd strained it. "Why'd you come back here?" he asked angrily. "You're totally wrecking my hard drive."**

** "Let me see," I said, and he grumpily opened his laptop. **

** The screen was covered with the **_**inside **_**of my head: images, words, photos, maps, mathematical equations. **"That is so…" Ella started.

"Yeah," I answered, "I know.

** The hacker scowled, seeming more perplexed than mad, though. "It's weird," he said. "You guys don't have a computer with you?"**

** "No," Fang said. "Not even a cell phone."**

** "What about a Palm Pilot?" the hacker asked.**

** "Nope," I said. "We're kinda more low-tech than that." Like, having Kleenex would be a huge step up for us. **Everybody laughed.

** "A memory chip?" he persisted. **"Ding! Ding! Ding!" Ella said. "We have a winner."

** I froze. Almost against my will, I slid my gaze over to Fang. **And my gaze flittered down to my wrist. The ugly scars that mysteriously vanished never showed again. I shivered again.

** "What kind of memory chip?" I asked, striving for casual.**

** "Anything," the hacker said. "Anything that would have data on it that would interfere with my hard drive."**

** "If we did have a chip," I said carefully, "could you access it?"**

** "If I knew what it was," he said. "Maybe. What do you have?"**

** "It's small and square," I said, not looking at him.** "Like a box?" Gazzy asked eagerly. I rolled my eyes.

** "Like this?" The hacker held his fingers about three inches apart.**

** "Smaller."**

** His fingers were a half-inch apart. "You have a memory chip this small?"**

** I nodded.**

** "Let me see. Where is it?"**

** I took a deep breath. "In me. It's implanted in me. I saw it on an X-ray."**

** He stared at me with horror in his eyes. He turned off his laptop and closed the lid. "You have a memory chip that small **_**implanted **_**in you," he verified.**

** I nodded, guessing this was somewhat worse than having cooties.**

** He took several steps back. "A chip like that is bad news," he said slowly, as if I were stupid. "It might be NSA. I won't mess with it. Look, you away from me! Next thing, they'll be after **_**me.**_**" He backed away into the darkness, his hands up as if to ward off evil. "I hate them! Hate them!" Then he was gone, back into the bowels of the tunnels. **"Well, that was interesting," Mom said with a light laugh.

** "See ya," I whispered. "Wouldn't want to be ya."**

** Fang looked at me irritably. "I can't take you **_**any**_**where." **Everyone laughed.

** I so wished he weren't all banged up – so I could whack him. **They laughed harder. Ugh. We're almost done, then maybe we can actually get somewhere. Thankfully. I handed Fang the book.

**Chapter 120 **he read and I couldn't help but be soothed by his voice. My head was hurting a little from this whole event. But it felt good where we were.

**We tried to get some sleep – God knows we needed it. I kind of dozed off. Then I **_**wasn't**_** asleep, I knew that much. But I wasn't awake, exactly. **"That crazy in between state where your aren't in a REM cycle is _so _aggravating, and yet, I find myself there in most of my classes at school," Ella said and then backtracked a little under mom's glare. "Uh, I mean, in… um… oh, nevermind."

"What's a REM cycle, Max?" Gazzy asked.

"REM means Rapid Eye Movement and is when your mind is fully asleep. It's typically when you're dreaming," I answered.

"Ooh, okay."

** I'd been, like, sucked into another dimension, where I could feel my body, sort of, knew where I was, and yet was powerless to move or speak. I was in a movie, starring me, watching it all happen around me. I was going down a dark tunnel, or the tunnel was slipping by me, and I was staying still. Trains were rushing past me on both sides, so it was a subway tunnel. **"Okay, so what are you seeing? Is this where you're supposed to go?" Ella asked. My flock applauded and Iggy laughed. Ella huffed and crossed her arms, her cheeks bright red.

** I was thinking, **_**Okay, subway tunnel. **_**Yeah, so? **"However," Fang said, "I did wonder how you knew where to go. I wish you'd told me about this then, I thought you were going crazy." He shook his head and I stuck my tongue out at him.

** Then I saw a train station: Thirty-first Street. The Institute's building was on Thirty-first Street. In the darkness of the waking-dream subway tunnel, I saw a filthy, rusted-over grate. I saw myself pulling the grate up. Fetid brown water gurgled below. **_**Bleah – **_**it was the sewer system, beneath the city. **"Oh, gross," Ella said.

"And you're only reading about it," Nudge said with an expression of plain disgust. "Try witnessing it firsthand. It was absolutely horrendous."

** Hello.**

_**Beneath a rainbow. . .**_

_** Bingo, Max,**_** said my Voice.**

** My eyes popped wide open. Fang was watching me with concern. "Now what?" **"How long had you been watching me?" I asked slowly, turning my head to look at him with playfully narrowed eyes.

He shrugged, but I could see the smile in his eyes.

** "I know what we have to do," I said. "Wake everyone up." **

He closed the book and Total flew up to take it to Nudge.

**Chapter 121** She read.

**AN: NO WAY! THREE CHAPTER'S IN A WEEKEND! AHHHH! I'm so proud of myself *sniff* *sniff*. **

**I always love seeing these in other fanfictions I read, so I decided to offer one up to **_**my**_ **lovely readers: **Challenge time!

My challenge: Write a cute little drabble about a bonding moment between Nudge and Fang. Can be from any perspective (Preferably either Nudge's, Fang's or 3rd person. . . but it could be an outside person). If you can write it, I can read it.

The winner will have it posted in one of my stories and get a special mention in my next chapter. Let me know if you want to try it in a review okay? PLEASE review either way.

I'll tell you how to send me the challenge. :)

**Anyway.**

**I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Until next time,**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	55. Chapter's 121, 122, & 123

Maximum Ride All Over

Chapter 55

Disclaimer: James Patterson owns Maximum Ride, not I.

**Chapter 121 **She read.

"**This way," I said, walking in the darkness of the tunnels. It was as if a detailed map was imprinted on my retinas, so I could see it laid over reality, tracing the path we needed to follow. **"Interesting," Iggy said.

"So that's how you knew where to go," Gazzy said.

**If this map effect was part of my life forever, I would go nuts, but right now it was dang useful. **"Do you still have that, Max?" Ella asked.

"No, thankfully," I said, shaking my head.

** One other thing I guess I should mention – I was really, really afraid now, more afraid than I'd ever been before, and I didn't even know why. **"Gee, you're wandering down a dark tunnel that might lead you to more psycho scientists and who knows what other horrors. Why would you possibly be afraid?" She said. I stuck my tongue out at her. **Maybe I didn't want to know the truth. Also, my head was throbbing, and that had me a little crazy too. Was I approaching my expiration date? Was I going to die? Was I just going to fall over and be gone from the world and my friends? **"Why didn't you tell me you were worried about that?" Fang asked quietly enough to where my human family couldn't hear. I shrugged, then looked at him.

"I couldn't find the words," I said even quieter. How do you tell someone you love you think you might be dying? I shivered and scooted even closer to him.

** "Did the voice tell you about this, Max?" Nudge poked me and asked.**

** "Kind of," I answered.**

** "Great," I heard Iggy mutter, but I ignored him. **"I really had you all worried, didn't I?" I asked, putting my head in my hands.

"It's okay, Max," Nudge said. "We didn't really know _what_ to think."

"We always knew you were crazy," Iggy said. "It just started to show a little more."

Angel rolled her eyes. "I knew you were okay, Max," she reassured me. Of course she would, the little mind reader knew almost exactly what was going through my head 24/7.

**Every step was bringing us closer to the Institute – I could feel it. We were finally about to have our questions answered, and also possibly fight the worst fight of our lives. But our curiosity was **_**so**_** compelling: Who were we? How had they taken us from our parents? Who had grafted avian DNA into us and why? **"Have you actually found those answers?" Ella asked. I shrugged.

"Not exactly," I said slowly, "at least, not all of them, and not for everyone." I noticed the way Nudge's eyes looked anywhere but at Ella or me, and the way Gazzy and Angel sighed, and Iggy's shrug. "As far as I know, the information we were looking for might still be out there, or it might not, but I think we've all decided it doesn't _really _matter anymore. What matters is who we are now, and what we're going to do with the life we've been given."

"Oh, some of that information's still out there," Jeb piped up. I held up my hand.

"We'll save _that _conversation for later."

**My mind shied away from the parent question. I really didn't know if I could stand to find out. **Everyone laughed, everyone but Fang and me. **But everything in me burned to know the other whys and wherefores. I wanted names. I wanted to know who was accountable. I wanted to know where they lived. **

** "Okay, now the tunnel splits," I said, "and we take the one with no tracks."**

** Angel's hand was in mine, small and trusting. The Gasman was still dopey with sleep, occasionally stumbling. Iggy had one finger in Fang's belt loop.** "What about Nudge?" Ella asked.

Nudge grinned, "I was right behind her, beside Gazzy."

** We were looking for a rusted grate set in the floor. I my dream, I had seen it at the crossroads of two tunnels, so it had to be here. But I didn't see it. I stopped, and the others stopped behind me.**

** "It has to be here," I said under by breath, peering into the darkness.**

_**Don't think about what has to be, Max. Think about what **_**is.**

** I set my jaw. **_**Can't you just tell me stuff straight out?**_** I thought. Why did everything have to be like, "What is the sound of one hand clapping" and all?**

** But okay. What **_**was**_** here, then? I closed my eyes and just **_**sensed**_** where I was, consciously letting any impression at all come to me. I felt like such a total dweeb. **Mom and the flock laughed.

** Then I just walked forward, eyes shut, trying to sense where we should go. Instinctively, I felt I should stop. So I stopped. I looked down.**

** There, at my feet, was the dim outline of a large rusted grate.**

** Well, aren't **_**you**_** special, I told myself. "It's over here," I called. **"So, wait," Ella said. "Is that like your internal GPS or something?"

I smiled, "Kind of."

** The grate pulled up easily, its screws disintegrating into rusty powder as Fang, Iggy, and I pulled. It came loose and we set it aside.**

** Below it was a manhole with rusted U-shaped handholds set into one side. I lowered myself over the edge and started climbing down into the sewer system of New York City. **"Gross," Ella said.

** What a destiny.**

** Finally, I had to ask the Voice a question. HAD TO ASK. **_**Am I going to die? Is that what this is all about?**_"You just _had_ to ask," Ella said.

** There was a pause, a long one, really agonizing, the worst.**

** Then the Voice decided to answer. **_**Yes, Max, you are going to die. Just like everybody else.**_

** Thank you, Confucious.**

My family – and Jeb – laughed. I shook my head as Total flew the book from Nudge to Gazzy.

**Chapter 122** he read, then, exercising his mimicry abilities, he transitioned into my voice.

**This may surprise you, but the sewer system of a burg with eight million people is even less delightful than you might imagine. **Nudge's face was wrinkled in disgust from the memories and Mom and Ella were both looking grossed out. **We climbed down the manhole one by one and ended up standing on a grimy tiled ledge maybe two feet wide. Above us, the tunnel curved around, some fourteen feet across,** "Isn't that about the length your wingspan used to be?" Mom asked, trying to figure out if we'd be able to fly out of there.

"Yeah," I said with a shrug, remembering my fight and flight in the sewage tunnels. Gazzy kept reading.** and below our ledge was a swiftly moving current of filthy wastewater. **

** "Bleah," said Nudge. "This is so gross. When we get out of here, I want someone to spray me with, like, disinfectant." **"Sooo disgusting," Nudge said again with a shiver.

** Angel stuffed Celeste up under her shirt.**

** "Max?" said the Gasman. "Are those, um, rats?" **

** Lovely. "Yes, those do appear to be either rats or mice on steroids," I said briskly, trying not to shriek and climb the walls like a girly-girl.** Everyone laughed.

** "Jeez," said Iggy with disgust. "You'd think they'd want to live in a park or something."**

** Ahead of us was a four-way intersection of tunnels, like a big cross. I hesitated, then turned left. Several minutes later, I stopped, completely and utterly without a clue.**

_**Hello, Voice?**_ **I thought. **_**A little help here, please. **_"Yeah, even I know it won't answer you so easily," Ella said.

** I had no hope that the Voice would respond, but if it did, it would probably say something like, If a tree falls in a forest, does it still –**

** I looked down, then sucked in my breath so fast I almost chocked. **_**I was standing on a translucent platform suspended high over the sewer system.**_"Wait, what?" A few people said at once. **I wanted to scream, feeling off-balance and scared. Below me I could see another Max, looking like a deer caught in headlights, and the rest of the flock staring at me. Fang reached out and took the other Max's arm, and I felt it, but no one was with me.** "Whoa," Ella said and Nudge's eyes were wide. "What happened?" she asked. I shook my head. I still don't understand how it happened.

Fang put an arm back around me for comfort. It was tough hearing this again, and this wasn't even one of the rough battles or trapped parts of our lives. But for me, I felt like my mind was being undone. It was nice to have his support right now.

_**When are you going to trust me, Max?**_** said the Voice. **_**When are you going to trust yourself?**_

** "Maybe when I don't feel completely **_**bonkers,**_**" I snarled.**

** I swallowed hard and tried to get a grip. Tentatively, I glanced down again at the translucent surface. As I watched, faint lines of light tracked the path behind where we'd already been. Then the lines continued through the tunnels, like a neon This Way sign.**

** Quickly, I glanced up but saw only the yucky yellow-tiled arch covered with mold – no glass ceiling. Fang was still holding my arm, looking at me intently.**

** I gave him an embarrassed smile. "You must be so sick of looking at me with concern."**

** "It **_**is **_**getting stale," he said. "What happened? This time, I mean." **

** "I don't even want to explain," I said, wiping clammy sweat off my forehead. "You'd have me committed to a madhouse." **"Maybe I should have," Fang muttered and I smacked him. He chuckled.

** I stepped carefully around him and led the others forward. Some sections of the tunnel were lit dimly from open grates high above us, other parts were dark and dismal. But I was never lost, never uncertain, and after what felt like miles, I stopped again because it felt like it was time to. 'Cause, like, the feng shui was right, you know? Ugh. **"You really must have either thought that she always knew what to do all the time or thought she was insane by now," Ella said. The younger kids smiled. I'd had their trust from the beginning. Iggy snorted, and Fang laughed once.

"That's my family," I said with a slight smile.

** As we stood staring around ourselves in the darkness, avoiding our chittering little rat friends, I saw why we were there.**

** Set into one cruddy, disgusting sewer wall was an almost completely hidden gray metal door. **"Why would there be a door in a sewer wall?" Ella asked.

"Because the psycho scientists can't do things the normal way," Iggy answered.

** "We're here, gang. We made it."**

Gazzy gave the book to Total so he could fly it to Angel.

"Wow," she said. "We're getting really close to the end, Max."

**Chapter 123**

**Don't get too excited. The door was locked, of course.** "Nothing is ever going to be easy for you, is it, Max?" Ella asked, her head in her hands. She could probably sense the tension again.

I laughed. "Easy? What's 'easy'? I've never known that word."

** "Okay, guys," I said softly. "Can any of us open locks with our minds? Speak up now."**

** No one could. **"I wonder if I could now," Nudge said. I thought about it. She did have the nifty ability to attract metal to her. "Can I try it, Max?"

"Hmmm," I said, trying to find the right way to say this. "We'll test it, but not yet."

** "Iggy, then." I moved out of the way and pulled him gently to the door. His sensitive fingers reached out and skimmed the door, feeling its almost indistinguishable edges, hovering around the keyhole. Like someone was going to come down here with a **_**key**_**. **"It's so hard to picture people coming down the sewers with a key for their job. Was there another entrance?"

Jeb nodded. "It was much more secure though, they never would've made it anywhere near the computers if they'd gone in the typical entrance."

** "Okay," Iggy muttered. He pulled his little lockpicking kit out of his pocket, as I knew he would. Even though I had confiscated it for **_**forever**_** only two months ago, after he picked the lock on my closet at home. **"I needed it," he said simply. "You should be glad I found it."

I was glad. We wouldn't have gotten far without it. But that's beside the point. I needed a better way to hide his confiscated articles. It sounded like a rhetorical question: How do you hide something from a blind kid?

** Home. Don't even think about it. **_**You no longer have a home. You're home-less. **_"Ugh," Nudge said. "When do you let up on that fact?"

These poor kids, I thought. I looked at Fang and in an instant it was decided.

"Don't worry, Nudge. It doesn't matter. Wherever we are is home, right?" Angel answered for me. Besides, nobody could answer her hopeful question with a "no, it's not."

** Carefully, Iggy selected a tool, changed his mind, took out another. Angel shifted from foot to foot, looking nervously at the rats, who were growing creepily curious about us. **"Nobody got bit, right?" Mom asked, suddenly worried about more diseases and infections.

** "They're going to bite us," she whispered, clutching my hand, patting Celeste through her grimy shirt. "I can read their minds too."**

** "No, sweetie," I said softly. "They're just afraid of us. They've never seen such huge, ugly . . . creatures before, and they want to check us out."**

** I was rewarded with a tiny smile. "We're ugly to them. Right." **

** It took Iggy three minutes, which was a personal record for him, breaking the old four-and-a-half-minute record required by the three locks on my closet. **Everyone laughed. Iggy grinned.

"I can do better than that," he said.

** Iggy, Fang, and I gripped the edge of the door with our fingernails and pulled – there was no doorknob. Slowly, slowly, the immensely heavy door creaked open.**

** Revealing a long, dark, endless staircase ahead of us. Going down. Of course. **

** "Yeah, **_**this **_**is what we needed," Fang muttered. "A staircase going down to the Dark Place." **"You know it," I said in response.

** Iggy blew out his breath, less than thrilled. "You first, Max."**

** I put my foot on the first step.**

_**You're on your own now, Max,**_** said my Voice. **_**See you later. **_

"Here, Total," Angel said rubbing his head as she gave him the book.

Ella received it and started to read.

**Chapter 124** she said.

**AN: What? No response at **_**all**_** to my challenge? I'm disappointed. D: That's no fun at all. Guess nobody gets a special mention or anything at all. I thought about not updating till I got at least one, but then, I figured, that'd be mean and cruel to both you **_**and**_** me. I love writing and posting as much as you love reading. **

**So, now that this one's up. The challenge is still open, so please, someone, anyone, just give it a try. 0:-) I have a special surprise in store for the people that accept the challenge or even are interested in it at all, so **don't let it pass you by!

**Leave a review in the comments and let me know what you're excited about for this weekend or in this story. **

**Until next time,**

**~Jezabel Raewin**


	56. Chapter's 124, 125, 126, & 127

Maximum Ride All Over Again

Chapter 56

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride.

**AN: Please, pretty, pretty please don't kill me if you don't like what happens.**

**Chapter 124,** Ella read.

**My headache was back, worse than before. **"Does that mean anything?" Ella asked.

"I hadn't really thought about it like that, El," I said. "Those days flew kind of fast. I really don't think it meant much… maybe my mind was still getting used to the Voice's presence…"

"**Let's keep it moving," I called over my shoulder.**

** Unlike the sewer, there wasn't even far-off light on the stairs, so it was pitch black. Fortunately, we could all see pretty well in the dark. Especially Iggy. **"You got that right," Gasman and Iggy said. Ella shook her head. I wonder if she'll ever get used to our heightened senses.

** The steps seemed endless, and there was no handrail. I guess whoever built this wasn't too concerned with **_**safety.**_"Like that's anything new," Nudge said. "Remember Germany?"

"At least in Germany they were concerned about your exercise," Angel said briefly.

Germany. Sewers. I darkened as I found the similarities.

** "Do you know what you're doing?" Fang asked softly.**

** "We're approaching our destination," I said, descending into the darkness. "We're homing in on the answers we've dreamed about getting our whole lives."**

** "We're doing what your Voice has told us to do," he said.**

** I was wary. "Yeah? The Voice has been okay so far, right?"**

** There was a bottom at last. "Here we are," I said, my heart pounding. **

** "There's a wall in front of you," said Iggy.** "I love how _I _had to tell you where the wall was," Iggy said smugly, a smile on his face. I grinned.

"I knew I could trust my blind pyro to lead us in the dark," I said.

** I reached out in the blackness, and a few feet away, my outstretched fingers touched a wall, then a door, then a doorknob. "Door," I said. "Might need you, Iggy." **

** I turned the knob, just to see, and lo and behold – the door began to open. **"It's never easy," Ella said. "So why is it easy this time?" Stress and tension crept into her voice as she kept reading.

** We were all silent. The door swung all the way open without a sound, and a gentle wash of fresh, cool air wafted over us. After the fetid, dank stench of the sewers, it was amazing. **"I can only imagine," Mom said and the flock drank in the wonderful Arizona air.

** Feeling like Alice in Wonderland falling down the rabbit hole, I stepped forward, my filthy shoes sinking into thick carpet. Yes, carpet.**

** This all suddenly seemed horribly easy, suspiciously easy, scarily easy.**

** We went through this second door, then stopped and stared.**

** We were in a lab, a lab just like the one back at the School, thousands of miles away in California.**

** "We're in the Institute," I said.**

** "Uhm, is that a **_**good**_** thing?" asked Gazzy.** "I have to agree with the Gasman on this one," Mom said. "Is that a _good _thing?"

I felt my head nod once, but was stuck in my memories, reliving this day and going through the details was painful.

I barely notice Ella hand the book to Total who flew it to Mom.

**Chapter 125** she read.

"**Holy bubbles," Fang said, stunned.** Everyone was confused. Fang's never said 'Holy bubbles' in his life. Despite what was running through my mind, I burst out laughing, hysterical. Fang held me at arm's length and tried to look in my face. Well, I _think_ that's what he was doing. I couldn't tell, I was too busy doubling over and laughing.

"Max, are you okay?" Nudge asked, I barely registered the concern in her voice.

I felt Fang stand up lithely on our branch and felt him pick me up. "Give us a minute," I heard Fang say quickly and we were off.

He didn't say anything as I laughed, my laughter slowly turning into sobs.

We landed in a deserted park, it was close to dinner time by now. Fang pulled sat on the ground under a tree and pulled me into his lap and rocked me for a minute. After what seemed like a century, the tears slowed and I was more in control of myself.

"Max, I don't know what's gotten into you, but you need to stop this," he said, lifting my head with a hand to stare into my eyes. "Are you going to explain what happened?"

I took a deep breathe, shook my head, and cleared my throat.

"Okay," I said softly. "Nudge and Angel mentioned Germany, when Ari died protecting me. That, combined with the fact that down in those sewers he died at my hands, had me wondering what it would've been like if he'd just survived. If he'd gotten to live a little longer. Not just that, but I was stuck on reply on this whole scene, the whole lab rescue and escape scene. Every detail, forever ingrained in my memory, came rushing back.

"What really threw me was Mom. Right after she started the chapter. You'd said 'Holy (*still not saying it*).' Not 'Holy bubbles.'"

Fang, silent through my monologue, patient through my cracking voice, laughed. Not long, and not unkindly. "Max," he said, wrapping his arms tight around me and kissing my hair. "Max, it's okay," he said soothingly, like he used to talk to Nudge, or Angel when they were having a rough day. "I know he was your brother, but you know what? He'll always be stay in your heart, no matter what anyone says, no matter what I've said before. Always remember that."

As we sat there, I could see how childish I had acted. I was able to think a little clearer. I struggled in his arms, but he wouldn't let me go.

"Fang," I said heartfully. **(Yes, I **_**did**_** just make up a new word. Get over it.)** "Fang, I don't know what I ever did to deserve someone like you in my life, and I love you. But if you don't let me up now so we can go back and finish the damn book then I'm going to have to break your arm. Understood?"

He sighed, smiled and let me stand up. Before I could walk very far, Fang ran behind me and grabbed my hand. "Max," he said, "slow down a sec." I stopped and looked at him. His dark eyes were glowing. "Look, I want you to know that I'm always going to be there for you and want your worries to be my worries. I want you to know that you can confide anything in me and I'll do the same with you. Max, you're more than my best friend, more than my girlfriend. Relationships don't always last, Max, but I want you know that ours _will._"

"What are you getting at, Fang?" I asked, blushing.

"Maximum Ride," he said as he lowered himself onto one knee. "I don't have a ring, but will you by my bride? My beautiful, ferocious Maximum Ride?"

I think my heart stopped. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think. There was nothing to think about. I felt my head nod up and down and then tears were falling down my face – again. I said yes. I think I said it, maybe, 10 times. We laughed, hugged, and after taking a moment to compose ourselves, we decided to make it a surprise for everyone.

Unfortunately, we had to end our moment of bliss and go back to the real world.

"What happened, Max?" Nudge asked. I shook my head and smiled at her.

"I'm okay, really. I just got lost in memories for a bit." I shook my head, then smiled at her. "Mom, can you restart the chapter? But read what was written this time," She nodded, I winked, then she warily started reading again.

**Chapter 125 **

"**Holy [insert a swear word of your choice here]," Fang said, stunned.** "Oh, okay," Angel said, understanding why I'd had Mom read what I put in instead of her own choice. Angel laughed.

** "No kidding," I said. There were banks of computers taller than me. And tables with first-class lab equipment. Dry-erase boards covered with diagrams – many of which I'd seen during my brain attacks. Things were in "sleep" mode, quietly humming but not working – it wasn't yet dawn. **"How could you tell it wasn't dawn yet?" Ella asked. "Weren't you in the dark nether regions under New York City?"

"Look, I don't know, Ella," I said, sighing. "It just wasn't dawn yet."

** We wove our way among the tables, trying to take it all in while quaking in our boots. I knew there were Erasers in this building – I could feel them.**

** Then I saw one computer still on, its screen bright, data being processed as we watched. This could be it – our chance to find out about our past, our parents, the whole amazing enchilada. **"I thought you didn't care about finding your parents?" Fang asked quietly, and I smirked.

** "Okay, guys," I said quietly. "Fan out, stay on guard, watch my back. I mean it! I'm going to try to hack in."** "Shouldn't you have left that to Nudge?" Ella asked, knowing about her ability to hack into any database.

"We didn't know she could do that yet," Iggy said.

**I climbed on the lab stool in front of the counter and grabbed the computer mouse.**

_**Password?**_"You and passwords don't get along well, do they, Max?" Gazzy said with a snicker.

__**I cracked my knuckles, making Fang wince. Well, it could only be about a hundred million different things, I thought. How hard could it be? **Everyone laughed. "You would never have been able to guess an Institute password," Jeb said. "If it weren't for Nudge," Angel finished for him.

** I started typing.**

** I won't bore you with the whole list of what was rejected. I was thankful that the system didn't lock me out after three bad tries. But "School," "Batchelder," "Mother," "Eraser," "Flock," and a whole lot of others didn't cut it.**

** "This is pointless," I said, my nerves frayed.** Everyone laughed. Fang laughed quietly in my ear, "You got so flustered, it was adorable." I shook my head, but mentally I was beaming.

** "What's wrong, Max?" Nudge asked softly, coming to stand close to me.**

** "Who am I kidding?" I said. "There's no way for me to crack the password. We've come all this way for **_**nothing**_**. I'm such a loser! I can't stand it!" **

** Nudge leaned in closer and touched the monitor with a finger, angling it so she could see better. She read the screen, her lips moving slightly. I wanted to push her away but I didn't want to be pointlessly mean.** "Thanks for not being pointlessly mean, Max," Nudge said with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes. "You know how I get," I said and she laughed.

** Nudge closed her eyes.**

** "Nudge?" I asked.**

** Her hand fanned out on the monitor, as if pressing closer for warmth.**

** "Hello?" I said. "What are you doing?"**

** "Um, try big **_**x**_**, little **_**j**_**, little **_**n**_**, big **_**p**_**, the number seven, big **_**o**_**, big **_**h**_**, little **_**j**_**, and the number four," she said in a whisper. **"That's crazy," Ella said, gawking at Nudge.

Nudge smiled sheepishly.

** I stared at her. Across the room, Fang was watching us, and my eyes met his.**

** Quickly, before I forgot, I typed in what she'd said, seeing the letters show up as small dots in the password box.**

** I hit **_**Enter**_**, and the computer whirred to life, a list of icons popping up on the left-hand side of the screen.**

** We were in. **Mom handed the book to Jeb and he started to read.

**Chapter 126** he read.

**I stared at Nudge, and she opened her eyes slowly. A bright smile crossed her face. "Did it work?"**

** "Yeah, it worked," I said, stunned. "Where'd you get it?"**

** "The computer," she said, looking pleased. "Like, when I touched it." She reached out and touched it again. "I can see the person who works here. It's a woman, with frizzy red hair. She drinks way too much coffee. She typed in the password, and I can feel it." **"Remarkable," Mom said, smiling at Nudge.

** "Wow," I said. "Touch something else."**

** Nudge went to the next chair and put her hand on it. She closed her eyes and, a few moments later, smiled. "A guy sits here. A baldie. He bites his nails. He went home early yesterday." Opening her eyes, she looked at me happily. "I have a new skill!" she said. "I can do something new! This is so cool!" **"Not when visiting memorials," Nudge clarified with a frown. I remembered how hard it was for her when we visited D.C. She's gotten better at controlling it though.

** "Good for you, Nudge," I said. "You saved our butts here."**

** Trying to focus despite this latest mind-blowing development, I skimmed icons and right-clicked my way into Explore. I searched for "avian," "School," "genetics" . . .**

** Then, oh, my God . . . **_**document files filled the screen.**_

** My fingers flew across the keyboard, searching out names, dates, anything I could think of to make a connection. **"Well done, Max," Jeb said as he paused. "I wasn't actually sure of what happened down there."

_**Origins.**_** That looked promising, and I clicked on it. My eyes raced down the lines of text – and my throat closed. I almost went into shock on the spot.**

** I saw **_**our **_**names, names of hospitals, names of towns – even what looked like names of parents. Then I saw pictures of adults that seemed to go with the names. **"You were really getting excited there, Max. Especially for someone who _wasn't _sure if she wanted to know her parents," Ella said and I huffed and crossed my arms. **Were these our parents? They had to be. Oh, God, oh God. This was it! This was exactly what we needed! **

** I hit **_**Print**_**, and pages started spewing out of the printer.**

** "What are you doing?" Fang asked, coming over.**

** "I think maybe I found something," I said breathlessly. I knew we shouldn't stop to look over the amazing pages here. "I'm going to print it, and then we should get the heck out of here. Start getting the others together."**

** I grabbed pages as they come out, folding them up and cramming them into all my pockets. I didn't even know how many there were, but finally the printer stopped. I was bursting to tell the others everything, but I didn't I bit the inside of my cheek until it hurt. See why I'm the leader? **"I don't think anyone else would've been able to keep quiet about that info," Nudge said. "Except Fang."

** "Come on!" I said urgently. "Let's split! Let's go!"**

** "Uh, just a second, Max," said the Gasman, sounding really, really weird. **"What happened to you? Why did Gazzy sound weird?" Ella asked.

"The Institute was a lot like the school in a few ways," Iggy said. "Not only did they have the labs, but they had the experiments to go _in _the lab." By the time he finished his miniature prologue, I'd received the book from Total and realized he just set it up quite nicely.

**Chapter 127 **I read.

**The Gasman was standing by a fabric-covered wall, and with typical curiosity, he had pulled the fabric aside. Slowly, we walked over to him, six sets of eyes wide as saucers. **"I take it you found those cages?" Mom asked warily. I nodded.

** When I was two feet away, my heart slammed to a halt inside my chest. I put my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming. Angel **_**did**_** scream, until Fang cupped a hand over her mouth. **"It was awful," Angel muttered. "It was like I when I was captured."

** Behind the glass was another lab room, with lab stations, computers, and . . . **_**cages.**_

** Cages with sleeping forms in them. Child-size forms.**

** Dozens of them.**

** Mutants.**

** Just like us.**

"That's the end of the chapter," I said handing the book to Fang. "Why did I get the super short one?"

"Because the world hates you," Iggy said dramatically.

"Oh, whatever," I muttered as Ella slapped him on my behalf.

**AN: And… IT'S THE WEEKEND! YAY!**

**Now. Please don't kill me. Review and tell me what you think about the **_**engagement**_**. I do have special plans for that later on. **

**Until next time,**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	57. Chapter's 128 & 129

Maximum Ride All Over Again

Chapter 57

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride.

Fang picked up right where I left off.

**Chapter 128** he read.

**I couldn't speak. **"I find it hilarious that Fang's the one to say that," Nudge said. Everyone was laughing.

"Hilarious," Fang muttered, then continued reading. **My gaze raked the glass wall, and I saw a small pad at eye level. I went over and pressed it in that cute don't-think-it-through way I have. **

** The glass wall opened, and we tiptoed through, our nerves as taut as rubber bands.**

** Sure enough, there were mutant kids sleeping in cages and in large dog crates. **"The poor things," mom said. **It brought my awful, gut-twisting childhood whooshing back to me, and I felt on the verge of having a panic attack. **Fang nodded briefly while he was reading, and I understood immediately. He was closer than I was. Iggy shivered as well. The younger ones had it easier, they hadn't gone through as much as we had. **I'd forgotten about my headache for maybe a minute, but now it was back, throbbing as if my brain was getting ready to blow.**

** Angel was looking sadly into one cage, and I went to her. Out of hundreds of genetic experiments, only we and the Erasers had been at all viable – as far as I knew. The two little creatures asleep on their cage floor were clearly horrible failures and probably couldn't last much longer. What with some of their vital organs on the **_**outside**_** of their bodies and all. Kidneys, bowels, a heart. **_**Oh, the poor babies. **_"It was awful," Nudge said quietly.

** "This is pathetic," Fang whispered, and I turned to see him looking at a large cat, like a serval or a margay. I'd never seen a real animal in one of the labs before. Just as I was wondering what its deal was, it woke up, blinked sleepily, then turned over and dozed off again.**

** I swallowed really, really hard. **_**It had human eyes.**_** And when I examined its paws more closely, I saw humanlike fingers beneath the retractable claws. Jiminy Christmas. **"Wild," Ella said.

** Glancing over, I saw Angel reading the card tacked to another small cage. Its doglike occupant was running in its sleep. "Hi, doggie," Angel whispered. "Hi, little doggie. You look like Toto. From **_**The Wizard of Oz**_**?" **"Hey it's me!" Total piped up. Angel laughed.

** I went over to Nudge, who was standing stiffly beside a cage. I looked in.**

** This one had wings. **"There are more like you guys?" Ella asked, utterly curious. I nodded sadly.

** I caught Fang's gaze, and he came over. When he saw the bird kid, he sighed and shook his head. I actually saw sadness and tenderness in his eyes. It made me want to hug Fang. But I didn't, of course.**

** "You know, we can't save them **_**all**_**," he told me softly. **

** "I'm supposed to save the world, remember?" I whispered back. "Well, I'm gonna start with these guys."**

_**There you go, Max,**_** said the Voice. **_**That's the difference between you and Fang.**_

_**Don't you dare say anything bad about Fang,**_** I thought. **_**He's usually right. He's probably right about this now.**_"Looks like I was wrong," he said.

_** Is it important to be right or is it important to do what's right? That's one of the hardest lessons to learn.**_

_** Okay, whatever. I'm really busy right now. **_ "Wow, Max," Iggy said. "Your Voice is really . . ."

"Annoying," I said.

"Aggravating," Gazzy said.

"Confusing," Nudge said.

"Yeah, that," said Iggy.

__**"Start popping latches," I whispered to Iggy, who whispered to the Gasman, and so on.**

** I opened a cage and gently shook the creature inside awake. "Get ready to run," I whispered. "We're getting you out of here." The poor baby looked back at me uncomprehendingly.**

** Several creatures were awake and pressing against their cage bars. Making weird noises I'd never heard before. We moved as fast as we could, opening doors. Finally, most of the prisoners were free, standing around, looking at the entrance to the lab with confusion or fear.**

** One cage held a large child who was gripping the bars. Fine features said this was probably a female. She had wings – I could see them tucked tight against her sides. She was older than the other winged child we'd seen.**

** I quickly unlatched the door to her cage. I jumped back when I heard a voice.**

** "Who are you? Why are you doing this?" she whispered.**

** "Kids don't belong in cages," I said to her. Then I called out in a loud voice, "Okay everybody. Let's blow this joint." **

Fang handed the book to Total who flew it to Nudge. He rubbed circles into my back and I played with his hand, both of us trying to shake the memories of cold tables, antiseptic scents, and claustrophobic cages.

Nudge received the book and promptly started to read.

**Chapter 129**

**This way!" Nudge said, attempting to herd the mutants out of the lab. "Don't be afraid."**

** "I hear voices," Iggy said. "Be **_**very**_** afraid." **"Way to help keep the kids calm, Iggy," Ella said playfully. He put his hands up in surrender.

"Just trying to be the ears of the operation," he said with a lopsided smile.

** "Let's move it!" I ordered. My heart was pounding – **_**what was I doing? **_**Was I going to take care of all these kids? I could barely manage the ones I had. **"What did happen to them?" Mom asked looking between me and Jeb. Obviously, they hadn't stayed with us.

"You should find out within the next couple chapters," I said.

** I would think about that tomorrow.**

** "Nudge! Fang! Angel!" I called. "Out, out, out!"**

** They zipped past me, urging the others, and then we ran through the first door and across the deep carpeting to the second door. "Up the stairs!" **"Yes," Gazzy said with a grimace "Back into the sewer."

"At least we got out of there," I pointed out.

** I didn't have Iggy's hearing, but I felt, sensed, that our little liberation party was about to be discovered. And that would be bad.**

_**Plan ahead, Max. Think it out. Think on your feet.**_

** Yes, Voice. Okay, we had steps, then sewer – I practically pushed the others up the dark stairs, one, two, three. . . One of the mutant kids freaked out and curled up in a ball, whimpering. I snatched it in one arm and kept climbing, two steps at a time. In my mind, I pictured the route we had to take. **"Very astute of you, Max," Jeb said. "I expected nothing less." But then his face darkened and his voice cracked as he suddenly realized what exactly happened here.

** Up ahead, Fang shoved open the last door, the one into the tunnel, and we all poured out after him, moving from cool, fresh air to a hot, fetid dampness that made my nose wrinkle.**

** "Where are we?" asked the bird girl we'd freed. She looked about ten years old and was one of the few who could speak.**

** "Sewer system, under a big city," I said shortly. "On our way out to fresh air and sunlight."**

** "But not just **_**yet**_**," Ari hissed from behind. "First we need to chat, Maximum. You and I. For old times' sake." **"Oh, joy," Ella said. "Something bad happens, right? I just know it does. Gazzy, go on, read, I need to know."

Total took the book from Nudge and gave it to the Gasman. Fang's circles intensified, knowing this was going to one of the hardest chapters for me.

**AN: Well, good weekend everybody. I hope you'll due me the honor of leaving me a review and letting me know what you liked about this chapter and what you want from the next (and last) 3 – 4 chapters. :D Yes, my dear readers, we are in the home stretch! **

**Until tomorrow,**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	58. Chapter's 130 & 131 (with bonus!)

Maximum Ride All Over Again

Chapter 58

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride, James Patterson does.

**Before we begin, I present to you:**

Challenge: Accepted

By Silverleaf2157

Fang walked down to the kitchen, hoping to fix himself a sandwich.

It had been a few months after the Flock had come back from Hawaii, and they were staying at Dr. M's.

Currently, Dr. M was at the store with Max, Iggy, and Angel, Ella was at school, Gazzy was watching TV in the basement, and Fang didn't know were Nudge was, probably in her room looking at magazines.

…Or not….as he entered the kitchen Fang was surprised to find Nudge in there, going through the cabinets, and a mess on the counter. Blinking slowly, Fang went over to the mess and looked at it curiously.

In a large bowl looked like there was something that looked was supposed be a batter of some sort. The area around the bowl was covered in flour, and there was a broken egg off to the side, also some milk dripping slightly down off the counter and onto the floor.

"Nudge, what is this?" Fang asked quietly, causing the dark skinned girl to jump, and whirl around.

"Fang!" She said in surprise, holding a small container that contained vanilla. "I - it's- Oh please don't tell anyone about this…especially Iggy!"

He cocked an eyebrow, still waiting for her answer.

Looking a bit sheepish, Nudge said, "I wanted to make a cake."

Fang looked at the bowl again, the stuff inside looked nothing like cake batter. "You could've asked Iggy or Dr. M?"

Nudge blushed, "I…I'm making this for Iggy!" she said almost too fast for Fang to understand.

Fang blinked slowly, then sighed, picking up the bowl, "Well, you're doing it wrong."

Nudge blushed harder, watching as Fang took the bowl to the sink and rinsed it out.

"Here, clean off the counter," Fang said, tossing a wet rag over his shoulder at Nudge, who's shoulders drooped as she went over to do as he said.

When Fang finished cleaning the bowl out, he turned to see that Nudge was finished cleaning off the counter, and was standing off to the side. She had her head bowed and looked like she was trying not to cry.

Fang didn't say anything, only setting the bowl down on the counter, seeing a recipe off to the side, he grabbed it and read it quickly, seeing it was for a cake.

Moving to the other side of the kitchen to grab some of the ingredients, Fang went back to the bowl.

"One of the key things is to mix the ingredients exactly as the recipe," Fang said, pulling out a measuring cup and getting the right amount of milk.

Fang saw Nudge's head snapped up in surprise out of the corner of her eye, her eyes wide.

"It's a good to crack the eggs into a different bowl, so you can get any shell bits out easily," Fang said as he cracked the eggs, Nudge grinning and moving to his side to watch intently.

Fang whisked the eggs, adding the milk and vanilla, looking very natural at it, Nudge thought, as he set the bowl down, and checked the recipe. He looked at Nudge, gesturing to her to get the sugar.

"The recipe says that you need two and a third cups of sugar, measure it out carefully," He said, handing her a measuring cup.

Watching her as she did, Fang let Nudge put the sugar into a different bowl. Next he had her carefully put the flour, vegetable oil, salt and more milk in the bowl with the sugar. Slowly mixing it, to keep the flour to poof up, Fang mixed the bowl, adding the baking powder after.

When Nudge glanced at Fang, she was surprised that his eyes were soft, not cool and blank like they usually were. He glanced at her as he mixed the bowl, feeling her gaze, and surprised her by giving her a small grin.

Turning back to the bowl, Fang then said, "Next we mix the two bowls."

Giving one bowl to Nudge, Fang motioned for her to pore it, slowly, into the bowl he was still mixing. As she did this, Fang continued to slowly mix the batter, allowing the two mixtures to blend.

Glancing at the recipe, Fang handed the spoon and bowl to Nudge, telling her to keep mixing the batter, and went over to the oven, turning the nob to 375 degrees.

While the oven was preheating, Fang had Nudge stir the batter until it was smooth. Pulling the right sized pan out, Fang sprayed the pan, then had Nudge slowly pour the batter in. When the oven beeped that it was pre-heated, Fang put the cake in, closing the door and setting the timer for twenty minutes.

Fang spotted a container that had white icing that needed to have the color mixed in, and that Nudge was glancing at it.

Grabbing the container, Fang got another bowl and dumped the icing in.

"What color do you want it?" Fang asked, as he started stirring the icing to loosen it up.

"Ummm I'm not too sure, maybe an orange, or something to be like fire, but I don't think that would look good. Oh! Maybe it can be blue! Yeah, I like that! But what shade of blue? A dark, or light blue? Blue green? I think that would look cool! What about sky blue!" Nudge rambled, finally relaxing enough to start talking again.

"Nudge!" Fang said, and she stopped in surprise. "Just a regular blue will do."

She nodded excitedly, and Fang let her squeeze enough drops of food coloring into the icing to turn it blue.

When they finished mixing the icing, Fang glanced at the small mountain of dishes that had accumulated in the sink, and blinked. "We should probably wash everything," Nudge said, looking at the sink too.

Fang nodded and started the water, "I'll wash, you dry and put them away."

When the two had finish most of the dishes, the timer went off and Fang pulled the now finished cake out of the oven and set it out on the counter.

"It needs to cool a bit before the icing can go on," Fang said as he went back to the sink to finished washing the last of the dishes.

Finally the two bird kids had finished washing the dishes and the cake was cool enough to spread the icing on.

While they were spreading the icing on, Fang reached up and whipped his cheek, accidently smearing a bit of icing on his face.

Nudge saw this and giggled, causing Fang to glance at her with an eyebrow cocked. She giggled and motioned at her face, where Fang had smeared on his.

He reached up and felt the icing, blinking in surprise, causing Nudge to laugh again. Fang fake glared at her as he used the back of his hand to whip it off.

As Nudge laughed again, not seeing Fang smirk, dip fingers in the leftover icing and quickly dart his hand out to swipe it on her face.

"Fang!" Nudge exclaimed in surprise, as he smirked.

She too grabbed some icing and moved to quickly moved to swipe at Fang's arm, leaving a large blue line. That started an 'icing war' that had both Fang and Nudge smearing blue icing on each other.

The icing war stopped suddenly when the sound of tires rolling to a stop in the drive way sounded. The two of them froze, and looked at each other, and Nudge laughed and Fang grinned slightly. The two then scrambled slightly too quickly clean up before Dr. M and the others saw them.

Max walked in after going to the store with her mom, Iggy, and Angel, her arms full of grocery's.

As she walked down the hall to the kitchen, and Fang walked out, his hands in his pockets.

He paused when he saw Max, and she had to stifle a sudden laugh when she saw that he had a smudge of blue stuff on his face.

"How was shopping?" Fang asked, completely oblivious of the fact that he had something on his face. "Max? Is something wrong?"

Max grinned, and shook her head, "Nothing, it was fine."

Fang nodded and continued up to the stairs, as Max waked into the kitchen, a small laugh escaping her lips.

**So that's the Challenge Winner! I put this at the beginning because I wanted something light encasing the dark moment below. Well done, Silverleaf2157! In your reviews, don't forget to comment on the one-shot!**

**Now, without further hesitation, here's the story you've been waiting for!**

3rd POV

**Chapter 130 **the Gasman read.

**I went still and saw the bird girl's eyes widen in fear too. **_**Did she know Ari? **_**Slowly, I handed her the small whimpering mutant in my arms, then turned. **Max leaned into Fang for support, hearing this happen again was just as bad as reliving it. Fang gave his girlfriend-slash-secret-fiancé the support she needed, but wanted to hear what happened.

** "Back again? What are **_**you**_** doing here?" I asked. "I thought Dad was keeping you on a short leash." **Jeb's breathing came in short breaths, _why did I leave him?_ He thought to himself. _Why did I ever leave him behind?_ Left behind the son he loved. Saved the daughter who continued to be indifferent about his existence. Yes, this chapter was going to be hard to hear.

** His hands curled into clawed fists.**

** I needed time. Behind me, I made "run!" motions with one hand. "So what happened, Ari?" I said, keeping his attention on me. "Who took care of you when Jeb left with us?"**

** His eyes narrowed, and I saw his canines growing visibly longer. "The whitecoats. Don't worry about it; I was in good hands. The best. Somebody was looking out for **_**me**_**." **

** I frowned, wondering – "Ari, did Jeb give them permission to Eraserfy you or did someone just do it while he was gone?" **"I've never thought about that," the Gasman muttered.

"You didn't _really_ get to know him very well, Gazzer," Iggy said, Nudge nodded.

"Did you, Iggy?" Angel asked.

He slowly nodded. "I remember him running around a lot and hanging on to Max's every word."

Max nodded mechanically and Fang smiled lightly at one of the few light memories in the School ***See below***

** Ari's heavily muscled body quivered with rage. "What do you care? You're so perfect, the one successful recombinant. And I'm nobody, remember? I'm the boy who was left behind." **Jeb's face lost a shade of color. _You weren't nobody,_ he thought fiercely.

** Despite everything, despite the fact that I could cheerfully have kicked his teeth in for what he had done to Fang, I did feel a pang of pity for Ari. It was true-once we were out of the School, I'd never given him a second thought. I didn't think about why Jeb had left him or what had happened to him. **"I-I," Jeb stuttered. "I couldn't bring him. They took him from me. Before I'd escaped with you, they'd taken my son." Max's eyes flashed down to his.

** "Someone did terrible things to you because Jeb wasn't there to protect you," I said quietly.**

** "Shut up!" he growled. "You don't know **_**anything!**_ **You're dumb as a brick!" **"Hard to believe he ever was nice to you guys," Ella muttered quietly. Nudge nodded, but didn't say anything.

** "Maybe not. Someone wanted to see if Erasers would last longer if they didn't start from infancy," I went on. Ari was trembling now, his hands clenching and unclenching convulsively. "You were three years old, and they grafted DNA into you and they got a superEraser. Right?" **"Turned out not to be much of a 'superEraser' after all," Fang muttered. "No matter how they keep trying."

** Suddenly, Ari lunged and swung out with one clubbed paw. Even with my speed-record reflexes, he managed to cuff my cheek hard enough to spin me against the gross tunnel wall. Something like pus stuck to my face. **"So nasty," Ella said and Nudge and Angel nodded.

** I sucked in a breath, accepting that I was about to get the stuffing beat out of me. Ol' Jeb, though clearly an agent of the devil, had taught us the useful art of street fighting. Never fight fair – that's not how you win. Use every dirty trick you can. **_**Expect**_** pain. Expect to get hurt. If you're surprised by the pain, you just lost.**

** I turned slowly back toward Ari. "Out in the real world, you should be in second grade," I said, tasting salty blood inside my mouth. "If Jeb had protected you."**

** "Out in the real world, you would have been killed for the disgusting mutant freak you are."** "Pot, meet the Kettle," Iggy said.

"What?" Ella asked.

"Haven't you heard of the saying 'the pot calling the kettle black?'" he asked.

"Oh, okay, I get it."

** Now the gloves were off. "And you're a . . . **_**what?**_**" I asked in mock polite confusion. "Face it, Ari. You're not just a big, hairy seven-year-old. You're much more of an obvious mutant freak than I am. And your **_**own father**_** let it happen." **Jeb winced and so did Max, realizing that Jeb had let everything happen to her and even _watched_ it happen. Some color came back to her cheeks.

** "Shut up!" Ari yelled furiously.**

** I couldn't help it – I felt bad for him for a second.**

** But only for a second.**

** "You see, Ari," I said conversationally, then launched myself at him with a roundhouse kick that would have caved in the chest of an ordinary man. Ari merely staggered.**

** Staggered back a half-step. Not even a full one. **"Wow," Mom said, stunned.

** He cuffed me again, and I saw circles and stars. He punched me in the stomach. My God he was as strong as a team of oxen. That would be strong, right?**

** "You're dead meat," Ari growled. "I mean that literally."**

** Then he surged toward me, claws out – **_**and he slipped. **_"He slipped?" Ella asked, cocking her head. Max nodded.

** His boot slid on the slimy tunnel ledge and he fell heavily to his back. So hard I could hear the wind knocked out of him, a mighty gush of air. **

** "**_**Get them out of here!" **_**I shouted at Fang, barely turning my head, then instantly dropped my full weight onto Ari's chest. **Gazzy started to read a little faster, sensing the climax that kept building was almost upon them.

** I could hear my heart and feel adrenaline snaking through me, turning me into Supergirl. I remembered that Ari had hurt Fang bad out at the beach – and he'd enjoyed it.**

** Ari struggled to get up, wheezing like a large animal with pneumonia, trying to push me off. I grasped his head with both my hands, my face twisted with fury.**

** But he got away from me. He was so fast, faster than I was.**

** Ari punched me again, and I thought I heard a rib crack. He was taking me apart bit by bit. Why did he hate me so? Why did all of the Erasers hate us? **"'Cause they were trained to," Jeb whispered.

** "Yes, Maximum, I **_**am**_** enjoying this. I want it to last a long, long time." **"If you only knew how long it really _would_ last," Fang thought, seeing his Max like this was rough. He pulled her closer to him and she snuggled close.

** I was his pummeling bag now, and there was nothing I could do about it. You can't imagine the hurt and pain, or his strength, or the fury aimed at me.**

** The only thing saving me from destruction was the slippery footing in the tunnel, the grime under his feet.**

** Just then Ari lost his balance again, and I saw the smallest opening. A chance, at least.**

** I kicked him once more, this time in the throat. Solid, a good one.**

** Ari gagged and started to go down. I threw myself at him, grabbing his head, and we fell as one in slow motion. He was huge, heavy, and we dropped like lead. Wham! Butt, back, head . . . I held on tight – as Ari's neck slammed against the hard side of the tunnel. I heard a horrible, stomach-turning **_**crack**_** that vibrated up my arms. Ari and I stared at each other in shock. **

** "You really hurt me," he gasped rawly, terrible surprise in his voice. "I wouldn't hurt you. **_**Not like this**_**." Then his head flopped down, and Ari went totally limp. His eyes rolled up and the whites showed. ** "You…he…what?" Ella said, exasperated.

"I killed him," Max said, slowly coming back to herself, realizing the worst of I t was over. "I never meant to kill him." Jeb's face had paled, and now there were glistening tracks of tears on his cheeks.

** "Max?" Iggy was trying to sound calm. "What was that?"**

** "I – I . . ." I gulped, sitting on Ari's barrel chest, still holding his head, "I think I broke his neck."**

** I gulped again, feeling like I might be sick. "I think he's dead."**

"That's…uh," Gazzy said handing the book to Angel, "That's the end of the chapter." He gave her the book and let out a long breathe that he didn't know he'd been holding. She took the book, and, knowing how close they were to the end, she quickly started to read.

**Chapter 131**

**We heard angry voices and heavy, pounding footsteps on the stairs above us.** "You gotta get out of there," Ella whispered. "Before anything else happens." Doctor Martinez nodded in earnest agreement.

** No time to think, to try and make sense out of what had just happened.**

** I jumped off Ari's lifeless body and grabbed Angel's hand. Angel grabbed Iggy, and we started running with Nudge and the Gasman right behind us.** "Fang, where were you?" Doctor Martinez asked, worried.Fang shrugged and muttered "Helping others." He rubbed Max's arm. **I was aching everywhere, but I ran. I ran like the dickens, whatever that is. I saw no sign of Fang and the other mutants – they'd already gone. **

** "**_**Fly!**_**" I shouted, dropping Angel's hand, and she instantly leaped out over the sewer water, snapping open and pushing down hard. Her sneakers dipped into the water, but then she rose again and flew off down the tunnel, her white wings a beacon in the darkness. The Gasman went next, looking freaked out and pale, and Iggy took off after him. **

** I heard a booming voice.**

_**"He was my son!"**_

** Jeb's anguished cry echoed horribly after me, bouncing off the stone walls, coming at me from all angles. I felt short of breath. Had I really killed Ari? Made him die? It all seemed surreal – the sewer, the files, the mutants, Ari . . . Was I dreaming? **"Some dream," Ella said.

"Naw, Max doesn't have enough imagination for a dream like this," Iggy said lightly, trying to raise the bar on the emotional scale.

** No. I was painfully awake, painfully myself, painfully right here, right now. **_Painfully is right,_ Max thought to herself.

** I turned and looked back at Jeb, the man who'd been my hero once upon a time.**

** "Why are you doing this?" I shouted at the top of my voice. "Why this game? This test? Look at what you've done." **Nudge and Gazzy thought that maybe it wasn't _just_ Jeb's fault, but knew now was a time to hold their tongues. Deep down, Max knew that too, but she wasn't about to tell anyone that. It was simpler to blame Jeb.

** Jeb stared at me, and I remembered clearly when he was like my father, the only one I trusted. Who had he really been back then? Who was he now? **"I'm still your father," he muttered. "Always have been, always will be." He smiled at his sulking daughter sadly.

** Suddenly, he changed gears completely. He wasn't yelling anymore. "Max, you want answers to the secrets of life, and that's not how it works. **"I know that now," Max whispered, so low that Fang had barely caught it. **Not for anybody, not even you. I'm your friend. Never forget that."**

** "I already have!" I yelled, then turned away, leaving Jeb behind.**

** "Take a right!" I shouted at Angel, and she did, swerving gracefully into a larger tunnel.**

** Just as I swerved after her, almost crashing into a wall because I banked too late, I heard one last, haunting cry. Jeb had changed his tone again – he was screaming at me, and I pictured his red face, red as a stop sign. **"It wasn't quite that red," Jeb muttered, he himself finally having a moment of peace.

** "You killed your own **_**brother!**_**" **"That's all for my chapter," Angel said, laying the book down by Total who was draped across her branch at her side. She stroked his head then his feathers.

"Do you want to –"

"No, I don't want to talk about it," Max and Jeb said at the same time, then Max and Jeb's eyes met. Jeb's grew soft, while Max's were still closed off.

"I was going to say break for dinner," Nudge muttered.

"Why stop now?" Max said. "There's only a few more chapters left, it's still light outside. Might as well finish this up now." She threw a smile to Nudge. "Then we'll have the Ig-ster whip up a fantastic dinner. Eh?"

Iggy grinned, at least Max was pulling herself back to the present and to her family. That's what matters. One thing the older kids were learning through this experience was that it's better not to dwell on the past too much. It only brings heartache and pain.

Total picked up the book and flew it over to Ella so she could start reading.

**AN:**

**Welp. This is it folks. We're in the final uploads. :O Can you believe it? **

**That little *see below* note: How many of you would read a story (written by yours featherly, of course) that was basically some of their memories of their time in the School? **

**Another thing: I **_**am**_** doing Schools Out – Forever, so don't worry, I won't just leave you hanging after the first book. **

**Until next update,**

**~Jezabel Raewin **


	59. Chapter's 132, 133, & 134

Maximum Ride All Over Again

Chapter 59

Disclaimer: James Patterson owns the Maximum Ride Franchise, not me.

Ella petted Total and received the book.

**Chapter 132 **She read.

**Jeb's horrifying words echoed in my head again and again, the meaning and consequences seeming worse each time. **_**You killed your own brother.**_** Could that be true? How? Or was this just more theater? Part of my test? **"Oh it was part of my test alright, but it still happened," Max said.

"What I don't understand is how you revived him," Iggy said. Ella did a double take.

"Wait, what?" She said.

Max shook her head, dismissing Ella's thought.

"You'll understand soon," Iggy said. "It was only a few days later."

** Somehow, we made it up to the street, where Fang was waiting. I felt faint, like I'd been hit by a truck, but I forced myself to keep moving. I remembered what was stuffed in my pockets. Names, addresses, pictures – of our parents? **"Right," Ella said, sitting up straighter. "You need to find that info out!"

"What happened to the other kids?" Mom asked. Max shrugged.

"They went out on their own," she said. "I haven't gotten any word of them since this time."

** "Where are the other kids? The mutants?" I asked Fang. So much was going on now. It was hard to keep it all straight, but it had to be done, so I did it.**

** "The girl with wings took them." He shrugged. "She didn't want to stay with us. Wouldn't take no for an answer. Sound like anyone you know?" **Laughter came from everyone but Max.

** I waved him off – I didn't want to talk about it now, didn't want to talk about anything. **

** I could still see Ari's eyes rolling back, could hear his neck snapping.** Everyone winced at that.

** "Just walk. Keep walking," I said, and started to limp forward. "Walk the walk."**

** It was almost two minutes later that I realized Angel was carrying something besides Celeste. **"ME!" "Total!" Total and Angel said at the same time. Max shook her head, then twisted to give Fang a look.

"Bambii eyes," he muttered. "Always the Bambii eyes." Max tucked that away for future use.

** "Angel?" I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. "What's that?"**

** Something small and black and furry squirmed under her arm.**

** "It's my dog," said Angel, and her chin went stiff, like it always did when she was about to get stubborn. **"She learnt that from _you_," Fang said causing everyone to laugh.

** "Your what?" Fang said, peering at the object in question.**

** We all gathered around Angel, but then I remembered how conspicuous we were. "Let's move," I muttered. "But this discussion isn't over, Angel."**

** In Battery Park, down at the tip of Manhattan, a small, abandoned band shell was almost hidden by overgrown rhododendrons and yew bushes. We huddled under its shelter as the rain washed dust off the city. I was wiped. I felt like I had absolutely nothing left. **"But you kept going anyway," Ella said, with a look of astonishment.

"You're a true leader, Max," Dr. Martinez said, beaming at her daughter.

** "Okay," I said, sitting up straighter, trying to put energy into my voice. "Angel, explain the dog."**

** "He's my dog," she said firmly, not looking at me. "From the Institute."**

** Fang sent me a look that said, If you let her keep this dog, I will kill you. **"Wow, Fang," the Gasman said, examining the living, breathing Max. Total snickered.

"Oh, he killed me," Max said. "But then he realized he wouldn't be able to lead you guys without the world blowing up. So he brought me back to life."

Everyone laughed.

"You only wish," Fang muttered barely.

** "Angel, we can**_**not**_** have a dog with us," I said sternly. **"But I'm not just a dog," Total said. "I can fly and everything!" Max smiled at him.

** The dog wiggled out of her arms to sit at her side. It looked pretty normal as far as I could tell. Its bright, black doggy eyes shone at me, and it was grinning in a friendly way. It's short, stumpy tail was wagging. Its nose sniffed the air happily, excited by all the new scents in the world. **"It was _so_ exciting," Total said emphatically. "All the colors of the world, all the scents, my god, the scents."

** Angel gathered the dog to her. The Gasman edged closer to look at it.**

** "And besides, you have Celeste," I pointed out.** "Even though I know how it ends," Ella said, smiling, "you are _not_ going to win this argument." Max stuck her tongue out at Ella and Fang chuckled.

** "I love Celeste," Angel said loyally. "But I couldn't leave Total behind."**

** "Total?" Iggy asked. **

** "That's what his card said," Angel explained. **

** "Totally a mutant dog who will probably turn on us and kill us in our sleep," Fang said. **"Ouch," Total said, looking at Fang, "that hurt."

Fang sighed, "Sorry," knowing Total wouldn't hush-up about it unless he did.

** The dog cocked his head to one side, his grin fading a moment. Then his tail wagged again, insult forgotten.**

** Fang looked at me: I got to be the bad cop and lay down the law.**

** "Angel," I began cajolingly. "We can't always feed **_**ourselves.**_** We're on the **_**run**_**. It's dangerous out here. It's all we can do to deal with us." **"Couldn't have said it better myself," Total said. "That's why you _needed_ me." How a dog could grin was still beyond Max but everyone laughed.

** Angel set her jaw and looked at her sneakers. "He's the most wonderful dog in the whole wide world," she said. "So **_**there.**_**"** Doctor Martinez laughed, knowing that she would win almost any argument against anyone, even without her telepathy.

** I looked at Fang helplessly.**

** "Angel," he said severely. She looked up at him with wide blue eyes, her face grubby, clothes filthy, cornrows all fuzzy. **"Here come the Bambii eyes," Iggy said. Angel giggled.

** "The first time you don't take care of him, boom, he's **_**out**_**," Fang said. "Understood?" **"I knew you'd cave, Fang," Doctor Martinez said, a laugh barely being suppressed, "but that was rather quick." Every laughed as Fang's complexion darkened.

** Angel's face lit up, and she threw herself into Fang's arms while I gaped at him. He hugged Angel back, then caught my expression. He shrugged and let Angel go.**

** "She made Bambi eyes at me," he whispered. "You know I can't resist it when she does Bambi eyes." **All the girls laughed wickedly at their shared 'superpower.'

Gazzy shivered. "That was creepy," he said.

** "**_**Total!**_**" Angel cried. "You can stay!"**

** She hugged the small wriggling black body, then drew back to beam at him. Total gave a happy yip, then made an excited leap.**

** And our jaws dropped. We all stared in disbelief. Total almost hit the top of the band shell, about sixteen feet above us.**

** "Oh," said Angel, and Total landed, almost bottomed out, then jumped up again and licked her face.**

"**Yeah,**_** oh**_**," I said. **Total barked out a laugh. "I really freaked you out, didn't I?"

The flock rolled their eyes and Angel giggled. Ella gave him the book, rubbed his head and he flew it to Doctor Martinez.

**Chapter 133 **She read.

**That night we made a small campfire and sat near the water in a part of New York called Staten Island. **"You guys have been all _over_ New York!" Ella huffed, crossing her arms and looking toward her mom who laughed.

"Chill," Max said as Iggy wrapped an arm around her sister. "With a little bit of luck we'll be going before too long, strictly pleasure this time."Ella squealed, and Iggy had to tighten his grip on her to keep her from falling off the limb.

**We were licking our wounds. Especially me. I hurt all over. But I was also unbelievably excited about what I'd found at the Institute. **"At least this time you're not wounded by bullets," Ella said, then blinked. "Wait, it hasn't even been two weeks since that happened!"

"Your point?" Max asked. "Two weeks. I'd healed."

** "Okay, we're all safe, all together." I took a deep breath and slowly released it. "We found the Institute and **_**maybe**_** we got exactly what we went there for. Guys, I found names, addresses, even pictures of people who might be our parents."**

** I could see surprise, shock, incredible excitement on all of their faces, but also hints of fear and trepidation. Can you imagine what it's like to meet your parents when you're somewhere between six and fourteen? I sure couldn't.** Iggy's expression smoothly faded from plain interest and intent listening to forced passivity. His experience with his parents had been less than stellar.

** "What are you waiting on?" asked Iggy. "The envelope, **_**please**_**. Open it, already. Then somebody tell me what it says." I felt a trembling sense of elation as I started pulling out the pages I'd taken from the Institute. Here were the answers to the mysteries of our lives, right? The others gathered around me, leaning over my shoulders, helping me smooth the printed pages flat without smearing the ink.**

** "Max, what did Jeb mean – you killed your brother?" Nudge asked out of the blue. The question was so typical of her – off in her own world again. "He didn't mean that Ari was your brother, did he? You guys weren't – I mean, **_**triple yuk-**_**"** "Way to just blurt it out, Nudge," Iggy said and Nudge huffed.

"I couldn't help it, you know how I can get sometimes. It just all comes spurting out like that fountain in Paris. Paris was nice, Max. Wasn't it? Can we go back? With the boys this time? Oh, uhm, never mind," Nudge blushed as she realized she was rambling again. Angel giggled.

** I held up my hand, trying not to shriek from bottled-up emotion. "I don't know, Nudge," I said, forcing myself to sound calm. "I can't think about it right now. Let's read these pages. When someone gets to something interesting, yell." I handed out the wrinkled stacks. **"You should know that only half of that information was correct," Jeb said suddenly. Max locked eyes with him. "I think you've figured out what _is_ correct and what's not."

** "Who's your daddy?" crowed the Gasman. "Who's your mommy?" **Doctor Martinez handed the book to Jeb.

**Chapter 134 **He read. "This is the last chapter."

**Angel started reading slowly, sounding out words. "This doesn't make sense to me," she said after about ten seconds.**

** Then the Gasman sat up. "Here I am!" he shouted. **_**"Here I am!"**_

** "Let me see, Gazzy."**

** The Gasman handed me his stack and I pored over it. Sure enough, I found his name: "F28246eff (the Gasman)." My heart nearly stopped. **"What's with the Numbers?" Ella asked.

"Encryption," Fang, Max, and Iggy said at once.

** "Here's an address!" I said, tracing my finger down a page. "It's in Virginia!"**

** "I've got an address too, and some names," said Fang. "And **_**my**_** name. And, oh man, there are pictures." **

** "Let us see, let us see!" Everybody gathered around Fang, and even though he's usually Mr. Calm, Cool, and Collected, he was shaking. We all were. I myself was trembling like the temp had dipped about fifty degrees. **"We never got to check out your address, Fang," Angel said sadly. "I'm sorry." Fang shook his head, Max was tracing patterns on his arm.

** Nudge was pointing at a photocopy in Fang's hand. It showed a man and woman who seemed to be in their thirties. "He looks just like you, Fang. And so does she. They've got to be your mom and dad! No doubt." **"Awe! Fang!" Ella said, her eyes bright with almost tears.

** Her voice choked up, and suddenly we were all crying, except Fang, of course, who just muttered, "Maybe, maybe not."**

** Then everybody was looking through the pages, searching for their parents. Nobody made a sound. Until –**

** "**_**Here they are!**_** My mom and dad!" Gazzy shouted. "One sixty-seven Cortlandt Lane in Alexandria, Virginia! Angel, look! This is them. It's totally amazing. It's a miracle. They look like me! And you too, Angel!" **

** Angel stared at the picture silently for a moment, and then her face crumpled and she was sobbing. I instantly reached out and held her small body close, stroking her hair. Angel's usually no softie, and when I felt her shake with sobs, my chest ached with her pain. Talk about your Kodak moment. Or Fuji. Whatever.** The flock managed to keep stiff upper lips this time around, though Angel and Nudge had tears threatening to spill over. Fang had partially turned invisible, and since Max was wrapped tightly in his arms, she was turning transparent as well.

Doctor Martinez almost spoke up, saying they were all as good as adopted, but something held her back. Maybe it was the looks on these young faces that looked far to aged. However, Dr. M thought, Max has got these kids all under control. She knows she can come to me for anything, but she's their mother in all but the literal sense of the word. She smiled proudly at her eldest daughter, then turned her warm gaze upon her youngest.

Ella didn't even seem to be aware of the way Iggy was protecting her from falling off. She didn't seem to mind either, rather she was completely at ease resting against his side with his arm and wings around her. Dr. Martinez had a feeling that Ella would be well taken care of for quite a while.

** "There's lots of numbers and nonsense printed all over these pages too," Fang said, bringing me back to the here and now. **

** I saw the same thing. "Why scramble just some of the information? It doesn't make sense." **"Partial truths," Jeb filled in for them. "And you figured out part of it." He gave Max a slight smile, but it was filled with pride. Max didn't want to see it, she shut her eyes and pressed into Fang. **(An: I think they're as close as human-hybridly possible. . .)** Fang turned them completely invisible.

** "Who cares?" Gazzy yelled happily. "I found my mom and dad! YAA-HOO! I take back being mad at them!"**

** Fang, Gazzy and Angel had hit the jackpot, but so far, Iggy and I hadn't. And Nudge still wasn't sure if her 'rents were out west or not.**

** "Iggy! Iggy! Your mom! Oh, aww. Says your dad is deceased," the Gasman reported. "Sorry about your dad. But your mom looks neat." He started to describe her out loud. **"More false information," Iggy said, in his mind he was thinking of those days with his mom and dad. He almost wished that his dad was actually dead, but regretted it at once. It's not that they tried to kill him, or anything like that, but they weren't his family. His flock was his family.

** So then there was just one outsider, only one of us without a mom and dad in the files form the Institute. You guessed it: moi. I still belonged to nobody, nowhere. **"At least we know _that's_ not true," Ella said grinning in the direction of her half-sister. Max herself grinned at that.

** I'd like to say that I'm such a good person, such a team player, that I didn't feel totally left out, heartache, just about ripped apart and destroyed – but I really am trying to get the lying under control. I did feel all those terrible things, and a whole lot more.**

** But I put on a brave face, and smiled, and oohed and ahead and reread files, being happy for my guys – who, face it, hadn't had much happiness yet in their hard, short, weird lives. **"Gee, it was about time for another one of 'Max's Reality Check.'" Gazzy said sarcastically.

** But my mind-like-a-steel-trap couldn't let something go. "So why scramble this other information?" I finally asked again. Just to say something else, to put myself somewhere besides the throne of pain.**

** "Maybe it's information the whitecoats never wanted anyone to find out," Fang said in the hollow **_**Twilight Zone**_**-y voice he used sometimes when things got unusually weird – as opposed to regular weird. **Everyone chuckled.

** "Like – funding," I said, thinking. "Or hospitals who gave them babies. Other messed-up scientists who help them. Like the keys to the whole Evil Empire." **"Like they'd put all that in a single document," Max muttered. She'd learned _that_ much from her experience.

** "Holy Joe," said Iggy, sitting up excitedly. "If we had that stuff, we could blow them wide open! We could send it to a newspaper. That fat guy could make a movie – like**_** Bowling for Columbine**_** or something."**

** My heart did flip-flops just thinking about it.**

** "I don't care about that stuff," said Nudge. "I just want to find my mom and dad once and for all. Wait, wait! This is me!" Holding her breath, she examined the information surrounding N88034gnh (Monique). "Know what?" Nudge quickly glanced from page to page. "All these addresses are in Virginia and Maryland and Washington, D.C. That's all kind of close together, isn't it? Plus, DC is where the government is, right?" **"Didn't Angel say that the School got you guys from different hospitals? From different areas?" Mom asked, she had a sinking feeling that this could all be a trap to lure them all into the D.C. area.

Angel nodded, "that's what I found out when I was captured."

** "This is the coolest thing ever," said Iggy, a far-off look coming over his face. "First we meet our parents. Joyful reunion, hugs, kisses. Then we go destroy the School, the Institute, all those sons of b- I mean, all those jerks who messed us up. That would be so great. Like, we could wipe out the Erasers, all of 'em, at once. Way cool!"**

** "So what are we going to do?" the Gasman asked, suddenly very serious.**

"_**For real?"**_

** "I want to do whatever Max does," said Angel. "And so do Celeste and Total."**

** Total wriggled, hearing his name, and licked Angel's hand. Whatever had been done to him at the Institute, he didn't seem to be holding any grudges. Now he licked Celeste.**

** That poor bear needed a bath in a big way. We all did. I looked at the troops. We were safe, for now. We were together. A wave of thankfulness came over me.**

** "We go to DC," I said finally. "And take baths. And start tracking your parents down. We have all their addresses, right?" **"Well the next book's going to be interesting," Ella said. "Do you cover the investigations?"

"I think you'll find it more than exciting and . . . yeah, interesting." Max said.

** "Woo-hoo!" the Gasman shouted, slapping Iggy high five, taking him by surprise.**

** I smiled at them. I loved them all so much and I wanted them to be happy. I could do this for them. But inside, I felt as if black holes were eating through my chest. I had killed someone today. Maybe my own brother. Now we were going to start finding out about pasts, maybe the meaning of our lives, and I didn't know if that's what I wanted. And only partly because I had no idea who my mother and father were.**

** But none of that mattered, right? These guys were my family. I owed it to them to try to help their dreams come true.**

** Even if it killed me. **"Max," Nudge said, her tears spilling over. "Come on, we want to see you, Max."

Fang took off the invisibility masking them, but never let go of Max.

"We love you, Max," Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel said, all clearly wanting to tackle Max with a huge feathery hug.

Iggy shrugged, and gave Max a half-smile, half-frown, "you know," he said. "You _are_ pretty awesome."

** Very late that night, or maybe it was early in the morning, I tried to talk to the Voice. Maybe, just maybe, it would deign to answer me. **

_**I have two questions for you, okay? Just two questions. No, make that three questions. Okay. Where are **_**my**_** mom and dad? How come I'm the only one with no files at all? Why am I having these terrible headaches? And who are you? Are you an enemy that's inside me? Or are you my friend?**__ "_That was _way_ more than three," Nudge and Ella said at the same time, then they laughed together.

__**The Voice came right back to me: **_**That's more than three questions, Max. And sometimes whether someone is your friend or enemy is all in how you look at it. **_"I started having those Eraser visions not long after this," Max whispered to Fang. "I think it was warning me that _eventually _I'd be able to trust Ari. . ."

Fang shrugged.

_**But if you must know, I consider myself your friend, a good friend who loves you very much. No one loves you more than I do, Maximum. Now listen. I ask the questions, not you. You're just here, **_**and the Voice actually chuckled, **_**for the ride. For the incredible, indescribable Maximum Ride.**_Jeb laughed as he read the last part. He gave the book to Total.

"There's an Epilogue," he explained as Total flew Max the book._ Oh, joy of joys,_ she thought.

**AN:**

**HOLY COW! It's the end! Almost. **

**I won't post the final chapter (the epilogue) until I'm ready to post So-F. but don't' worry, I plan on getting that ready soon. I just want to add a few things before the book gets read though. So patience is key.**

**Leave a review please!**

**Until next time,**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	60. Epilogue

Maximum Ride All Over Again

Chapter 60

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride.

With a groan, Max took the book from Total. _"Why did I even put an Epilogue in this thing?" _She muttered.

**Epilogue:**

**There's nothing in the whole wide world like flying in the early morning, say around sixish. **"Except sleeping," Nudge said. "Nothing's better than sleep."

"Even flying?" Angel asked her 'older sister.' Fang snickered.

"If I remember right," he said, "you fell asleep flying a _number_ of times." That caused everyone to laugh.

"I didn't even know that was possible!" Ella said with a laugh.

"Well, somehow, she manages to do it," Max said laughing along.

** At fifteen thousand feet, I could still make out the colors of cars inching along the New Jersey Turnpike below us. It felt fabulous to be wheeling in the air again, stretching my wings out fully, working out the soreness. We were flying in loose formation, coasting in one another's air wakes, smiling at nothing. We were happy to be together in the sky, way above the world that held our mysteries and our pain. **"Please let this calm last you a little longer," Ella said. "You need rest." Nudge and the Gasman and Angel were thinking about what would happen just a couple days from this, and shivered. The rest does come, but now how they would've wanted it.

** Total seemed to like the wind whistling through his fur, and the altitude didn't seem to be bothering his breathing yet.** "Nope," Total said with a little puppy dog chuckle.** I knew the others were excited about finding their parents, and I knew that I was going down that road with them, to the end of the line.**

** Fang glanced over at me, his face smooth and impassive, though I could almost feel the anticipation rolling off his feathers. I smiled at him, and his dark eyes lit.**

** Fang. I had to do something about him. **"Like marry me?" he asked so only she could hear. Max smiled at that.

** Me. I had to something about me too. **Everyone laughed at the two of them.

** When we got to Washington DC, it would be either incredibly great or a totally heartbreaking disaster. Iggy thought that meeting their parents would be our ticket to safety and freedom and happiness. I wasn't that na****ï****ve. **"This daily reality check is sponsored by _Maximum Ride_," the Gasman muttered in one of his deep announcer voices.

_**Knowledge is a terrible burden, Max, **_**said my Voice. I sighed. Still with us.**

_**It's a two-edged sword, **_**the Voice went on. **_**It might help you, but it might put you in danger far greater than anything you've faced so far. **_"No wonder you were grumpy a lot," the Gasman muttered.

"Yeah," Nudge nodded. "Your Voice is _really_ annoying."

__**Gotcha. But I had to do it anyway.**

_**Max – you have a bigger mission than finding the flock's parents. Focus on helping the whole world, not just your friends. **_"That's not going to fly over well," Ella muttered.

__**I held my wings steady, coasting for a long, long way on a warm updraft. It was like floating on a cloud, the best feeling you can imagine. I wish you could try it with me. Maybe next time. **"I'll take you up sometime," Iggy whispered to Ella and she giggled.

_**You know, Voice,**_** I thought finally, **_**my friends, **_**are**_** my world. **_"That's my girl," Fang said as Max dropped the book to the ground.

"That's the end," she said. "The end of the first book." She stood on her branch as the others stood up too, all but Dr. M and Jeb. "Now then, who's ready for dinner?" The flock cheered and the Gasman dutifully flew over to Iggy to help get Ella down easily.

Fang and Max got Doctor Martinez and Jeb down safely and they went inside to eat.

Iggy fixed a marvelous meal and Doctor Martinez fixed her chocolate chip cookies for desert. As they sat around the living room, with Max devouring every cookie placed in front of her, the flock got to enjoy another night of relaxation. But before long, Max stood up, wiping the cookie crumbs off of her chin and shirt.

"Okay, gang," she started out with a smirk, and Fang stood beside her, obviously in line with her next thought.

"We can't stay here forever," Fang said. Everyone but Doctor Martinez and Jeb protested. He held up a hand.

"He's right, we can't stay here forever," Max repeated, "but that doesn't mean we'll be back on the run. In fact, we won't be going _that far._" Everyone was confused.

"In fact," Fang said. "Everyone's still staying together, but this time, _we'll_ be the one's hosting the company." Now they were even more confused.

"What, are we going to host them to another wonderful night at Camp Bummer – for Wayward Mutants . . . and friends?" Iggy asked.

Max laughed. "No! We'll be hosting them at a home of our own. Think about it. Your own room. Your own bed. Away from the majority of the madness. And just a short flight away from Mom and El." Max grinned at her mom and sister.

"That brings up another topic," Doctor Martinez said. "Regarding what happens next. . . I'll need to take some time off work to be able to stay with you." She trailed off a little. Max nodded, and thought for a second.

"We should be able to get through the second one in a couple days. Maybe three for the third. The fourth one could probably be done in one day, and the fifth one about the same." Angel said, holding each book up.

Doctor Martinez nodded. "Well then, why don't you rest here for the night? Then tomorrow we can all go to your new house in the morning." Max shook her head.

"We should really go tonight. Fang and I will meet you here in the morning and you can have breakfast with us, sound good? Mom? Ella? Jeb?" Jeb shrugged but smiled.

"It's going to be so quiet tonight though," Ella said, sadly. "Do you really have to leave _tonight?_"

Max looked around at her flock and smiled sweetly at Ella. "Yeah, El. We really do. We'll see you in the morning, okay?"

**The end.**

**AN:**

You can find MRAOA: SO-F off of my Author page. :) I just wanna throw a _huge _thank you to EVERY one of my readers. You guys don't know how excited I get when I realize that my story is actually being read. AND THE REVIEWS. Holy Hera the reviews.

I can't wait for your reactions to part 2.

Please. Keep a look out for any of my works okay?

Signing out for the last time on this story,

Jezabel Raewin


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